Birmingham bombs: Victim’s stomach was almost gone as she staggered towards me

Former Pc Derek Bradbury said the inside of the premises had been turned to “rubble” and “splinters”, and described the dreadful injuries of some of those inside.

Inquests are being held in Birmingham into the bombings, which left 21 people dead and 220 injured – many of them seriously.

Giving evidence at the hearings in Birmingham on Monday, Mr Bradbury said that, following a coded bomb warning, the police control room had told him and colleagues to search the iconic Rotunda.

There had been no mention of the Mulberry Bush, or the Tavern in the Town, in the telephone warning phoned in to a newspaper, at 8.11pm earlier that night, the inquests’ jurors have already heard.

As Pc Bradbury and colleagues got into the Rotunda’s lift in the main foyer, he described hearing a “huge thud”.

“We knew instinctively, that a bomb had gone off,” he said.

He, a female police officer and another constable, then ran the short distance around the side of the Rotunda, to the Mulberry Bush.

Mr Bradbury, formerly of West Midlands Police, said: “I went in there and there was a chap standing there, only a young lad, obviously on his night out to town.

“He had his best mac and tie and he comes up to me and says ‘I’ll come in with you mate’.”

Describing what was in front of them, he said: “It was just a scene of pure carnage – nothing left of the pub.

“It was splinters of wood all over the place, wires were hanging down and water was coming down.

“You had to be careful, it was like walking on a rubbish tip because of all the bricks and rubble.”

He added: “As I was going in there a woman came out towards me.”

Mr Bradbury, recounting events from 44 years ago, broke down, and had to leave the witness box for a few moments.

When he returned, he took up his story, and said: “There was a woman staggering about towards me and she was not screaming but moaning and saying ‘I have been hurt’ and holding her stomach.

“There was not much of her stomach left really.

“She was the first one we took out, and I sat her down by (WPC) Maggie (Adams) and said, you know, ‘do your best’.

“I went back in again. There was a bloke lying there.

“This poor bloke, he was lying on his back and his legs had been blown off.”

Mr Bradbury told of another “kid” who he pulled out and believed already dead, another man who had lost a leg, and a young girl who he also believed was deceased.

In all, he brought six of the dead out of the pub that night.

He also discovered teenage friends Neil Marsh and Paul Davies, who had been walking outside when the bomb went off, and were among the deceased.

The inquest continues.