Officer was one of first to arrive on bombing scene (From Warrington Guardian)

Officer was one of first to arrive on bombing scene

1:00pm Thursday 14th March 2013 in News

Twenty years ago Warrington was rocked by an IRA bomb attack which killed two children in the town. March 20 marks 20 years since the 1993 bombings. Over the next week, we will be looking at what happened then through the eyes of some of the key people involved.

 

DETECTIVE Superintendent Geraint Jones was one of the first officers to arrive on bomb-hit Bridge Street.

Here he recalls the most shocking day in his 25 year career.

“I was on Pinners Brow when I heard the first bang and there was a bit of a shudder.

“There was a second bang and it was likely a bomb had gone off.

“It was a feeling of shock that something like that had happened.

“When I came up to the town centre floods of people were coming out of Bridge Street.

“People were like ants pouring out.

“One thing I remember is that I didn’t hear any noise - it was really quiet.

“There were walking injuries and some on the floor really hurt.

“People were helping to give first aid, running into Boots to get bandages.

“We were in a daze but you go to your basic instinct.

“Then you think ‘is there another bomb?’.

“We just wanted to get people the hell out of there so there wouldn’t be any more casualties.”

As a detective constable, the 46-year-old father-of-two helped secure the site and collected shrapnel and powder for evidence.

He praised residents and said investigations by Cheshire Police have changed as a result.

“The police learnt so much from a major crime investigation perspective - the forensics, how to manage a crime scene.

“From that horrible event, a lot of positives came out of it.

“There was just this fantastic response from people who wanted to help “Some of it is a blur but I do think about it, things like the red brick on Bridge Street then.

“Whenever I go down there, it all comes back to me.”