JACKSON RECALLS FIRE AT VALLEY PARADE IN '85

FOUR decades have passed but memories of that horrific afternoon will never leave Peter Jackson.

- By Jeremy Cross

May 11, 1985 should have been a day of celebration as he captained Bradford City against Lincoln, for the last game of a season in which they won promotion to the old Second Division.

Instead, it ended in unimaginable tragedy after a fire ripped through the main stand at Valley Parade, claiming 56 lives.

The stand was due to be demolished the following day.

Jackson helped his wife Alison and baby daughter Charlotte escape from the players’ lounge.

He spent six hours not knowing if his father, fatherin-law and two brothers had emerged alive.

Jackson spent that evening consoling victims at the local hospital, following an impromptu visit while still dressed in his kit.

And the weeks that followed saw him attend more funerals than he wants to remember, including two in one day.