I was at Old Trafford for the bomb scare, and it was terrifying

I was one of the first to re-enter the stadium


Yesterday I went to work as any other person in a job would – I got up, had breakfast, got ready and made my way to Old Trafford. But it took a turn of events that no one could have predicted.

Everything seemed normal, but 20 minutes before kick-off, we heard an announcement along the lines of: “Can the head of security please come to the main reception.” – we never hear announcements being made in hospitality.

Five minutes later, a ‘Code Red’ was issued, meaning we had to evacuate.

At this point, confusion rippled through the room as people were unsure whether to leave or not. But people started to panic, and as more and more people were gathering belongings, it became apparent that something serious was happening.

As an employee at Manchester United, we know the fire and safety drills for when emergencies like this happen, but this was different – I got the sense that this was on another level.

Standardly, in an emergency, the staff would wait for all the fans to leave, then follow. But this time around, everyone was panicking and heading straight to the stairwell.

Once outside, security told everyone to walk to the far car parks.

At this point, there were rumours of a potential package being found in the Sir Alex Ferguson stand. Walking away from the stadium, and to see children being lost from their parents and crying not knowing what was happening, was scary.

As time went on, and the whole stadium was evacuated, we were fed information from our managers that a package was found by an employee in a toilet on floor 5 of the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand.

I was working on floor 3.

A couple of hours went by, and no fans were in sight. Only security, the police, the fire brigade, armed forces and a bomb disposal unit. All staff were in the closer car parks while fans were well away. Staff who were under the age of 18 were sent home.

At around 5pm, I found the member of staff who found the package. His name is Lee. He told us that the package was a mobile phone, attached to a pipe with wires around it. I have never seen someone look so terrified.

Since the package was found, Police have confirmed it was not ‘viable’, and it was in fact left behind from a training exercise. In other words, it wasn’t real.

Only around 100-200 staff out of 1,500 were allowed to re-enter the stadium. I was one of the first to re-enter. As i walked up the stairs and through different hospitality suites, everything was abandoned. There was a stench of food and drink left anywhere and everywhere. And peoples belongings were still in place.

Whether real or not, I’m just glad all fans and staff were evacuated safely from Old Trafford. After experiencing a day like today, all I can say is whether you have plans to go to a music concert or a sporting event where there will be high security, take as few belongings with you as possible, and look out for any suspicious people or packages, as it only takes a second to change lives.