Manchester Arena: Trespassers vomiting and smoking drugs at bomb memorial, say bereaved families

Manchester City Council is investigating after people were seen trespassing on the future site of a memorial for the victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack.

The Glade of Light memorial garden, built to honour the 22 victims of the 2017 attack, is not yet open to the public and remains a building site.

However, two bereaved families allege that they witnessed hundreds of people walking through the area on Sunday, with claims of people seen vomiting and openly smoking drugs.

In response to the claims, the council said it had sent a security team to guard the site overnight, while Councillor Pat Karney said an investigation would be launched “as a matter of urgency”.

Mr Karney said in a statement to the BBC: “The whole area is covered by CCTV and if footage shows it was due to the deliberate actions of mindless thugs, rather than a problem with the fencing itself, we will pass this information on to the police.

“We utterly condemn this mindless and disrespectful behaviour and will not hesitate to take action against those involved.”

Caroline Curry, whose 19-year-old son Liam was killed, and Claire Brewster, who lost her sister Kelly and was herself seriously injured, said they spent hours trying to guard the site themselves, with Ms Curry labelling the actions of the trespassers “disgusting”.

The Glade of Light, located within Manchester’s Medieval Quarter, will feature a white marble halo ring with the names of the victims inscribed upon it.

A statement on the Manchester City Council website says: “The Glade of Light is designed to be a living memorial, a tranquil garden space for remembrance and reflection.

“Its peaceful surroundings are also intended as the setting for commemorative events in the city relating to the attack.”