Bombing led to sense of outrage - former council leader (From Warrington Guardian)

Bombing led to sense of outrage - former council leader

12:20pm Tuesday 26th February 2013 in News

AHEAD of the anniversary of the second bombing on Bridge Street in March, we asked then council leader John Gartside to share his views.

He says both attacks added up to a ‘sense of outrage’ in the town and across the world.

“More or less everyone in the town was either there on the day in March or knew someone who was there.

“Many knew those injured or killed. Warrington is a large town, but, in many ways, it is a small community, and the atrocity affected it deeply.

“Amidst the grief and anger, there was also confusion about why Warrington was a target: “This was fed by a larger context, which was that this was the second time in as many months that Warrington had been attacked by the IRA.

“Earlier, a gas works adjacent to a large housing estate had been bombed. Fortunately the bombs did not detonate according to the IRA plan and the gas works survived.

“Had this not been the case then there would have been enormous damage to the estate.

“Afterwards, this fact caused a persistent and real terror amongst the residents. The bombers were later intercepted on their way to another target, by a police officer, Mark Toker, who was shot when he questioned them about where they were going.

“These events – shootings, gas work bombings, town centre bombings – added up to a sense of outrage in the town, and, as it turned out, the wider world.”