Wounded father describes shrapnel scattered from 'explosive device' at Ariana Grande concert

A father has described the horrific scenes that unfolded before him as he waited for his daughter in the foyer of Manchester Arena when a deadly blast rang out.

Leeds man Gary Walker escaped serious injury but his wife suffered a stomach wound and a suspected broken leg.

He told BBC radio he was about three meres away from a blast near the arena doors and saw broken glass and metal nuts that he believed had been placed in an explosive device.

“We were just waiting for the kids to come out and then quite a few people flooded out, and then suddenly a massive flash and then a bang, smoke," he said

"I felt a pain in my foot, my leg. I turned around to my wife who was still inside and she said, 'I need to lay down'.

"I laid her down on the floor. She’s got a stomach wound and a possibly a broken leg.”

Mr Walker said he was standing near the merchandise stand and believed he was about three metres from the site of the the explosion.

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“I’m surprised I got away so lightly,” he told BBC.

Mr Walker said the blast appeared to come from someone who had walked out of the arena doors into the foyer

“You just feel shock at the start because you don’t really know what’s going on,” he said.

He believed the nuts and broken glass came from an explosive device.

"I can’t think of anything else that has nuts that would be flying around," he said.

Mr Walker said he could not run away and instead had to lie down with his injured wife for about an hour.

He told the BBC she was “not too bad” and had been taken to hospital.