Manchester attack: city mobilises to help concertgoers with offers of rooms and free rides

Residents of Manchester have mobilised in the hours after the Ariana Grande concert attack, with offers of help for stranded and injured concertgoers flooding Twitter.

The Victoria train station was closed in the wake of the incident, and was expected to remain closed throughout Tuesday, leaving many people stuck in the city centre without a way home. As many as 21,000 people – many of whom were children and teenagers – were at the concert.

Using the trending hashtag #roomformanchester, locals offered spare bedrooms, cups of tea and rides to people caught up in the attack.

There were also reports of a hotel in the city centre sheltering children who had become separated from their parents. Facebook turned on its safety check feature.

Taxi drivers reportedly converged on the city offering free lifts to people in need.

People also used the hashtag to appeal for help in finding friends and family members missing in the aftermath.

Manchester City councillor Bev Craig tweeted that people opening their homes and offering free rides was an example of “the manchester I love.”