THE inquests into the deaths of 96 football fans at Hillsborough have heard how a Nottingham Forest supporter attempted to save the life of a 17-year-old from St Helens.

Stephen O'Neill had gone to the match with his uncle David Hawley, who also lost his life in the disaster.

In a hearing in Birchwood in Warrington, Martin Carey said he had trained with the St John's Ambulance Brigade and had detected a "light pulse" in Stephen's wrist after he was carried on to the pitch. He told the inquest: "I couldn't categorically say that Stephen was breathing. Hence that's why I elected to carry on with CPR. I think he'd maybe stopped breathing at that time although the pulse was still evident."

He said he carried out mouth-to-mouth and chest compressions before helping carry Stephen into an ambulance.

Mr Carey stayed with him en route to hospital adding: "We had, if you like, a kind of bond and that we had to finish the job and I really believed that we could get Stephen back breathing again and I felt a connection and I felt that he was partly my responsibility, to get him to safekeeping."

Stephen was taken to hospital and Mr Carey did not see him again.

David Hawley was 39 and a father-of-three.

David and Stephen became separated from others in the group because they had tickets in other parts of the ground.

The inquest heard from Fiona Nichol who said she recalled David Hawley carried on to the pitch and placed on his back. There was a fan trying to give him mouth-to-mouth and heart massage. She said she looked to see if he was breathing but there was nothing.

Both his and Stephen's body were later identified by Paul Owens, who was Stephen's cousin.