A police officer knew paramedics would not reach the arena 'any time soon' as he tried to evacuate the Manchester terror attack's youngest victim in time to save her life, the public inquiry has heard.
Sgt Mark Haviland, of British Transport Police, helped carry injured eight-year-old Saffie-Rose Roussos on a heavily bloodstained advertising board from the City Room foyer of the venue where Salman Abedi detonated his device on the evening of May 22, 2017, and killed 22 people.
The then on-duty temporary detective constable parked his car near to the Trinity Way exit of the building and made his way to the City Room where senior police colleagues told him to help casualties.
Counsel to the inquiry Sophie Cartwright QC asked: 'Was anything said about paramedics, or what was going to happen with paramedics?'
Saffie-Rose Roussos (pictured), eight, from Leyland, Lancashire, suffered massive blood loss from shrapnel wounds to her legs caused by the explosion in the City Room foyer of the venue
The public inquiry heard today that Sgt Haviland, of the British Transport Police, knew medics would not be allowed into the arena in time to save Saffie-Rose because the threat was still being investigated and so carried her out on a makeshift stretcher with members of the public
He replied: 'No, but from my experience I knew they would not be coming and it would not be any time soon.
'I kept hearing mentions of the possibility of secondary devices at the scene and there was a mention of an active shooter that had come through to GMP (Greater Manchester Police) and I think they were telling the ambulance service about this.
'So if there is still an active threat the ambulance service won't come anywhere near the Arena until somebody confirmed there was no threat, and at that point I don't think anyone could so I knew they would not be coming.'
He said there was 'limited information' around ambulances and he presumed if they had gone to a formal rendezvous point they would not go to the Arena until it was deemed safe.
Inquiry chairman Sir John Saunders said: 'What we have heard is in a scene like that, giving any guarantee of no secondary device going off is actually impossible.'
No secondary device was discovered at the scene and the report of the shooter was erroneous, the inquiry has heard.
BTP officer Mark Haviland carried Saffie-Rose out on a makeshift stretcher, such as the one pictured, when he realised paramedics would not make it inside the arena to treat her
Sgt Haviland said the aforementioned concerns were on his mind and he also
