Manchester terror attack: Homeless man describes the moment a woman died in his arms

A homeless man has emotionally described how he cradled a dying woman in his arms after the explosion at Manchester Arena last night (22 May), which killed 22 people.

Chris Parker, 33, was in the foyer of the arena, hoping to collect some spare change from concertgoers as they left the venue, when the bomb went off just after an Ariana Grande concert.

"As people were coming out of the glass doors I heard a bang and within a split second I saw a white flash, then smoke and then I heard screaming," Parker told the Press Association (PA).

He said the impact of the blast was so strong that he was knocked to the ground. "Instead of running away my gut instinct was to run back and try and help."

He stopped to help both adults and children. "I saw a little girl... she had no legs. I wrapped her in one of the merchandise T-shirts." He asked the child where her parents were. The girl told him that her father was at work and that her mother was lying further up the stairs. Parker believes her mother died from her injuries.

He also stayed behind to care for a woman in her 60s. She had suffered serious head and leg injuries in the explosion.

"She died in my arms," Parker tearfully told PA. "I haven't stopped crying."

"The most shocking part of it is that it was a kids' concert," he added.

Twelve children under the age of 16 are among the 59 injured. Eight-year-old Saffie Rose Roussos and 18-year-old Georgina Callendar are among the first victims to be named.

A fundraising page has been set up for the heroic rough sleeper, who has been living on Manchester's streets for almost a year.

Chris Johns who launched the crowdfunding campaign wrote on the page: "Homelessness in this country is a widespread tragedy but it is absolutely unacceptable that someone who can react so heroically in such a terrifying situation should be on the streets. Hopefully this campaign will go some way to helping Chris off the streets and also show are gratitude for his actions."