A KEIGHLEY businessman, whose two teenage daughters died in the Hillsborough disaster, says justice has finally been done – but vowed campaigners are not going away.

Trevor Hicks and the families of all 96 football fans who lost their lives in the tragedy welcomed today's inquest jury ruling that the victims were unlawfully killed.

Mr Hicks, whose daughters Sarah, 19, and 15-year-old Victoria, died at the match, together with Allan and Barbara Bland, parents of the 96th and final victim, Tony Bland, were present as the verdicts were given.

Lawyers acting for the Hillsborough families said the jury's conclusions completely vindicated their tireless 27-year battle for the truth.

And Mr Hicks said South Yorkshire Police will have to face up to how they had conducted themselves.

Ninety-six Liverpool fans died in the disaster, on April 15, 1989, when they were crushed on the Leppings Lane terraces. They included the teenage sisters from Keighley, and Tony Bland, also from Keighley, who suffered severe brain damage and died four years later following a groundbreaking 'right to die' legal ruling.

An original inquest in 1991 ruled the deaths were accidental. Those verdicts were quashed following an independent report in 2012, which concluded a major cover-up by police and others had taken place to avoid blame for what happened.

The new jury today concluded that blunders by police and the ambulance service on the day had caused or contributed to the disaster.

The inquest lasted more than two years – the longest jury case in British legal history.

After the verdicts, businessman Mr Hicks said campaigners had done their job and would now keep a close eye on the work of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Wearing a badge bearing the number '96' on the lapel of his suit, Mr Hicks said: "We've known all along what happened.

"Obviously, it's taken us 20-odd years to get here."

Referring to the specific finding that the victims of the disaster were unlawfully killed, Mr Hicks added: "I have to own up and say I was even doubtful we'd get over the line on question six, but we have.

"I think if anyone is a winner today, it's society at large in that, no matter who you are, how big you are, or where you are in your organisation, the public will come after you if you do anything wrong."

Commenting about the role of South Yorkshire Police, Mr Hicks said: "Obviously, they've got to face up to the fact – even throughout these proceedings – at the way they have conducted themselves."

Asked how the justice campaign would progress in light of the verdicts, Mr Hicks vowed: "We're not going anywhere.

"Obviously, we hand over to the CPS and other people now, and we will be keeping an eye on them.

"The arms of the state should be working for us now rather than against us.

"We've done our job to get us here. We have exceeded all expectations – we've had a clean sweep in terms of every verdict."

Mr Bland, now 80, said the inquest proceedings had "brought it all back" for himself and his 76-year-old wife.

The grandfather-of-three added: "This is the end of a really long and emotional journey, but in many ways it does not seem long ago.

"We were in a different position to the other families and we didn't catch up with them until the fourth anniversary. But when we did, it was a help to meet other people and share the burden."

Mr Bland revealed, in a statement read to the inquest, the trauma they faced in the years after the disaster.

He said that four weeks after the tragedy, it was apparent "there was nothing left of our son".

He added: "I just wanted Tony back and would look for any signs that might mean he was improving.

"However, in all the hours we spent with Tony, he never reacted to any stimulus from us or from anyone else.

"We had no life. There was no coming home. We were completely institutionalised."

The jurors had been told they could only reach a determination of unlawful killing if they were convinced the match commander, Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield, owed a duty of care to those who died, and breached that; that they were satisfied that breach of duty caused the deaths and that it amounted to gross negligence.

The jury concluded by a 7-2 majority that it was unlawful killing.

It also concluded that fan behaviour did not cause or contribute to the tragedy, but the police and ambulance service did cause or contribute to the loss of lives by an error or omission after the terrace crush had begun to develop.