Policemen told reporters they had never experienced anything like it before and many people described the mood of the city and its atmosphere as being similar to that of the Hillsborough tragedy when almost 100 Liverpool Football club fans lost their lives. The club's players once more donned black armbands and led a minute's silence before a match - even the legendary Kop stand was silenced. But after the grief came anger and hatred which culminated in a crowd of more than 500 people gathering outside South Sefton Magistrates Court, hurling abuse at the two boys. The parents of both killers were eventually forced to move to other parts of the country and change their names. Thompson and Venables themselves are now held in different secure units.
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