Hillsborough disaster killed 96 eight years after police averted another tragedy by opening pitch gates, court hears

The Hillsborough disaster took place eight years after police averted another tragedy at the same stadium by opening pitch perimeter gates to relieve the pressure on fans, a court has heard.

Jurors at the manslaughter trial of police chief David Duckenfield were also told how "hooliganism and the effort to prevent hooligan violence had a profound effect on football" in the years before 96 Liverpool wholly innocent fans were killed.

As a result, on the day of the disaster in 1989, many of the security cameras set up were there to detect "fraud" rather than safety issues, the lead prosecuting barrister Richard Matthews QC said.

The safety certificate for the stadium was also "very out of date", having been issued in 1979, jurors were told.

Preston Crown Court heard how, two years after the safety certificate was issued, there had been a crushing scare at the 1981 FA Cup semi-final between Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

"The police response to the crushing was to relieve the pressure by opening the pitch perimeter gates to let people out," Mr Matthews said.

Afterwards, a letter from South Yorkshire Police to Sheffield Wednesday dated 5 June 1981 said officers were right to open the gates.

Responding to complaints over disruption, the force said it "established beyond doubt that the police action, in letting spectators onto the track, was not only necessary but was vital to avoid further serious injuries and possibly save life.

In this respect, my only criticism of my senior officers is for not opening the gates earlier and thus avoiding the emergency measure of allowing and helping spectators to climb over the fence."

However, in the years before Liverpool's match against Nottingham Forest, radial fences to separate fans were then installed.

Mr Matthews, continuing his opening for a second day, said two South Yorkshire Police evidence gathering teams had hand-held video cameras and were outside the ground recording some of the crowd’s movements towards the stadium.

However, instead of prioritising crowd safety, Mr Matthews said: “The Club system had been installed primarily to deter fraud, not for safety reasons: to prevent turnstile operators allowing people in without a ticket for pocketed cash.”

On each turnstile, an electronic switch recorded when a person went through the turnstile, which displayed onto the computer screen in the control room.

Each turnstile also had an ‘electronic eye’ at eye level within the turnstile.

The electronic eye would be triggered if anyone climbed over the turnstile, which was termed an illegal entry.

The computer calculated each zone’s cumulative count and when 90 per cent of the capacity, as set out in the safety certificate, was reached, the colour on the screen for that area changed. It also gave an audible warning.

Mr Matthews said: “Serious hooliganism was a real problem in English football in the 1970s and 1980s. The fear of hooliganism and the effort to prevent hooligan violence had a profound effect on football. It affected the design of stadia.”

Stadiums had to be designed to permit fans from rival teams to be segregated. Thus, the guidance in the Green Guide in part reflected the problem of hooliganism.

Mr Matthews said:  “Hooliganism also meant that the police had to be more deeply involved in how stadia were laid out, the arrangements for matches in advance and the control of matches on the day.”

As the Safety Certificate for Hillsborough in terms stated, no match could take place unless the Chief Constable or the Police Officer having charge of the stadium was satisfied with the arrangements for segregation.

Between 21 December 1979, when Hillsborough was given a Safety Certificate, and 29 April 1986, the licensing authority for Hillsborough was South Yorkshire County Council.

Sheffield City Council took over as licensing authority in April 1986. The court heard how Duckenfield had attended a series of meeting on the ground's safety set up in the mid 1980s.

Duckenfield, 74, of Bournemouth, denies the gross negligence manslaughter of 95 of the Liverpool supporters, including 10-year-old Jon-Paul Gilhooley, at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final. Under the law at the time, there can be no prosecution for the death of the 96th victim, Tony Bland, as he died more than a year and a day after his injuries were caused.

In a case due to last until May, Duckenfield appears in court alongside former Sheffield Wednesday club secretary Graham Mackrell, 69, of Stocking Pelham, Hertfordshire, who is charged with contravening a term or condition of the stadium's safety certificate and failing to discharge a duty under the Health and Safety Act.