READERS share their memories of IRA attack as they reflect on 25 years since the Warrington bombing.

It was a beautiful clear sunny day when Angela Nicholls, now Kemp, headed to her part-time job on Sankey Street on March 20, 1993.

There was no sign of what was to come.

The then 16-year-old, from Padgate, said: “I didn’t usually work Saturdays but as March 20 was the day before Mother’s Day I had been asked to work additional hours – it was expected to be one of the busiest days of the year. 

“I worked in the confectionary department and it was my job to keep all the shelves stacked with boxes of chocolates.

“At the time the bombs went off the store was full. 

“I didn’t immediately recognise what I heard to be a bomb – it sounded to me like shutters being slammed shut on the back of a van but it was loud and sounded close by. 

“Out of the corner of my eye I saw crowds of people running away from Bridge Street. 

“One man ran into the store, frantic, telling us to get out as there were bombs. 

“We just looked at him bewildered, the words he was saying just didn’t sink in. Why would anybody want to bomb Warrington?”

The mum-of-two, who now lives in Birchwood, had plans to meet a friend for lunch so went to check she was ok.

“My supervisor told me to be careful, with hindsight if she’d realised the extent of what had just happened she would never have let me go,” said Angela who was studying for her A-levels at the time.

“My friend was ok and as I was leaving her store, there was an announcement over the speakers to evacuate. 

“I ran back to Woolworths, I didn’t want to be alone. 

“Sankey Street was eerily quiet, it felt strange as it had been so busy minutes earlier. 

“There were a few people wrapped in silver blankets being looked after, but apart from this it was deserted.” 

“There was a police cordon at the end of the street. 

“Woolworths was empty, our manager was locking up, the staff all stayed together locked inside. 

“Within minutes we were also told to evacuate. We headed off in groups down Sankey Street and as I walked with two colleagues we walked towards a group of McDonald’s employees who were inconsolable, hugging each other as they worked so close to the blasts on Bridge Street.”

Excitement filled the air 24 hours before the Warrington bombing.

Children were busy creating cards at a pre-school play group at the Cantilever Community Centre on the outskirts of Stockton Heath. 

Among the group was three-year-old Johnathan Ball.
The toddler was putting the finishing touches to his Mother’s Day card with the help of Susan Cornwell, who ran the group.

David Cornwell, who was married to Susan at time, said: “My wife clearly recognised the name Johnathan Ball but she was not familiar with the address given.

“But by the Sunday the publication of a photograph – which is still used in connection with Johnathan to this day – appeared on television and she immediately recognised the image as it had been taken at the play group shortly before the tragedy.”

David, 67, from Appleton, will never forget the moment the photograph of Johnathan was broadcast on the TV, leaving his wife distraught with the shock of the sickening reality of what had happened to a young boy with his whole life ahead of him.

As two firefighters carried Stephen Lee to a nearby ambulance shortly after the second bomb blast, he was in a state of shock.

But the sickening reality quickly hit home when he overhead a conversation about the first fatality, a toddler later identified as Johnathan Ball.

“That is the one thing that always plays on mind when I look back,” said the 46-year-old, from Cinnamon Brow.

“Two firemen were carrying me to an ambulance and I heard another fireman say ‘we’ve lost a little kid’.

“That’s when I realised how bad it was.”

Stephen, who was a 21-year-old machine operator at the time, had travelled into Warrington with his friend and now ex-girlfriend.

The trio were sat on a bench nearby when they heard the first blast.

“We heard a bang – it was like a thud,” said Stephen.

“We didn’t know what it was so we said ‘let’s go and have a look’.

“We walked down the alleyway at the side of where Scott’s Sports used to be on the corner.

“As we walked down the alleyway you could see people were looking towards the bottom of Bridge Street. 

“The bin was on the corner and as we walked past it blew up behind us.”

Stephen was only 12 feet away from the bin when it exploded.

“I felt like my back was on fire,” he recalled.

“I threw my coat off and ran.”

After sprinting to safety in a nearby pasty shop, Stephen, who was living in Woolston at the time, realised he had suffered shrapnel wounds to his back.

“I don’t remember too much but I remember they leant me over the counter and put napkins on my back to stop the bleeding,” he said.

“I knew it was bad because when they lifted my top up in the shop my girlfriend screamed but I know how lucky I was.”