Hundreds respond to disaster appeal

Investigators have already begun contacting those who got in touch within 48 hours of the witness appeal being launched on Tuesday.

IPCC deputy chairman Deborah Glass said: “We want to speak to as many people as possible and I would urge people to contact us.

“We want to build the most comprehensive account there has ever been about the events of Hillsborough and we can only do that with the help of those who were there on the day and those who gave accounts previously to West Midlands Police.”

The IPCC’s investigation into police conduct regarding the Hillsborough disaster, at which 96 Liverpool fans died at the Sheffield football ground, is the largest inquiry it has ever undertaken.

Ms Glass added: “This is a national and international search for witnesses.”

South Yorkshire Police’s chief constable, David Crompton, has also urged football supporters who were there to come forward and speak to the IPCC.

He said: “We know that many people did come forward at the time and gave statements to the West Midlands Police, who conducted the initial investigation into the events of the day and whose evidence was presented to Lord Justice Taylor’s report and the subsequent inquests.

“But it may be that many more who witnessed the terrible scenes that day in April 1989 have never given their accounts of that day, and, 24 years on, I would urge them to do so.”