Fences at a site dedicated to the 22 victims of the Manchester Arena attack were pulled down on Sunday.
Image source, Manchester City Council
Families of people killed in the Manchester Arena attack have said they were “disgusted” after a memorial site for the 22 victims was trespassed on.
The Glade of Light memorial in the city centre remains a building site and does not officially open until the new year.
Two bereaved families said they were appalled to find the security fences pulled down on Sunday.
Hundreds of people were injured when Salman Abedi detonated a bomb at an Ariana Grande concert on 22 May 2017.
Caroline Curry, from South Shields, whose 19-year-old son Liam was killed in the bombing, told the BBC she was “disgusted” by the trespassers.
Ms Curry said she found hundreds of people were walking through the area, which is supposed to be closed to the public.
She said one man stood on a memorial stone and was abusive when challenged, another woman vomited all over the area, and groups of youths were openly smoking drugs.
Claire Brewster, from Sheffield, lost her sister Kelly, 32, and was herself seriously injured.
She said she was “devastated” to arrive in Manchester on Sunday night to see people moving the fences to walk through the memorial.
Last week bereaved families were told by Manchester City Council that fences around the memorial would be taken down in January, at which point it would become accessible to the public.
The council and Greater Manchester Police have been approached for comment.
The council has said the memorial, which is situated alongside Manchester Cathedral, is designed to be “a tranquil garden space for remembrance and reflection”.
Announcing the plans in January, it said the garden would include a “stone halo” centrepiece bearing the names of the victims of the attack and personalised memory capsules, containing items provided by each victim’s loved ones.