A poignant collage of the 96 victims of the Hillsborough disaster marks the event’s 20th anniversary today in the Liverpool Echo.

Over the past ten days the Echo has been carrying several pages of news in the build-up to the anniversary culminating in today’s extensive coverage.

On 15 April 1989 Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest were due to play their FA Cup semi-final but over crowding on the Hillsborough terraces resulted in a huge crush, taking the lives of nearly 100 Liverpool fans.

News reporter Luke Traynor has been instrumental in pulling together memories and interviews with the victims’ families as well as the individual photos of each of those who perished that day in Sheffield.

He told HTFP: “One of our ideas early on was to try and get a photo and some words from the family of each victim.

“I don’t think it has ever been done before. It has been difficult as there are a number of the families who have left Merseyside or have lost contact with the others.

“But we managed to get a photo of and write something about every victim.

“The last photo was from a lady now living in London whose son had died at Hillsborough – we got that on Sunday. It was an achievement to get them all.”

The 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy has been dominating the national news agenda with TV and radio stations carrying special programmes about the events and its subsequent aftermath.

Luke said that some families had been very sceptical about the media but he managed to secure interviews with two who rarely speak to journalists – the Blands and Gilhooleys.

Tony Bland, 22, was the 96th victim of Hillsborough after his family had to apply through the courts to gain the right to turn off the life support machine in March 1993.

As such, he became the first patient in English legal history to be allowed to die by the legal system through the withdrawal of life-prolonging treatment.

Luke also spoke with the parents of another victim, ten-year-old Jon-Paul Gilhooley – the cousin of current Liverpool and England player Steven Gerrard.

Luke added: “They have rarely spoken about it but we did a piece with them and they had a lot of moving and heartfelt tales.

“They talked through the day and going into the gymnasium at Hillsborough to identify the body.

“I think the victims’ families are a little bit wary about some newspapers but at the Echo we’ve tried to do it in the right way.

“What has been interesting is seeing how the families cope with it. Some are happy to talk openly and for others it is still quite raw.”