"But when tough looking 30year-olds began to scream like I have never heard before, I realised this was serious."

On 15 April, 1989 Nottingham Forest played Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough football stadium in Sheffield.

While the game was abandoned after only six minutes the events of that day will never be forgotten. The story has been told many times and yet the mere mention of Leppings Lane, The Sun newspaper controversy or the Taylor inquiry continues to raise nightmarish memories of that tragic afternoon in Sheffield 18 years ago.

TIckets were always in short supply for what was a repeat of the previous year's FA Cup semifinal and the fact that Liverpool fans were assigned the smaller Leppings Lane end of the ground only compounded matters.

However, as kick-off time closed in it slowly became clear that a serious situation was arising.

By 2.30 the number of people outside the turnstiles had grown to such an extent that orderly queuing was impossible. They were approaching a bottleneck - 10,000 fans strained to enter Leppings Lane through three gates and seven turnstiles. Within minutes a crush developed and after what seemed like an eternity, gates were opened to alleviate the pressure outside.

But the resulting influx of thousands of fans through a narrow tunnel at the rear of the terrace caused a huge crush at the front of the terrace, where people were being pressed up against the fencing by the weight of the crowd behind them.

The scene was now being played out in front of millions watching on live television. In the minutes that followed, the game was halted as fans tried desperately to climb to safety but for many, help came too late.

That day 94 people died with 766 other fans receiving various injuries. The death toll reached 95 four days later, when 14-yearold Lee Nichol died in hospital from his injuries. The final death toll became 96 in 1993, when Tony Bland died after remaining in a coma for nearly four years.

Following the disaster, Lord Justice Taylor was appointed to conduct an inquiry with his report resulting in the removal of fences from British stadia and the introduction of all-seater arenas. The Taylor Report also stated that the official cause of the disaster was the failure of police control with particular condemnation reserved for Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield who oversaw the police response to the events.

Duckenfield admitted that he had lied in statements regarding the causes of the disaster while other police officers were accused of manipulating evidence.

Adding to the trauma for the victims' families was the fact that The Sun printed a front page story with the headline 'THE TRUTH' claiming that fans picked the pockets of victims and urinated on police. The Taylor inquiry found the allegations were totally without foundation.

Today memorials stand outside Anfield Road stadium in Liverpool and at Hillsborough in memory of those who lost their lives on that terrible day.