Tormented Nick Bickerstaff, who saw bodies blown up as he waited in the foyer, filmed the video as a memento for his family - believing he would die in a second blast
A DAD 25ft from the suicide blast recorded a harrowing video of the aftermath as he howled for his daughter.
Nick Bickerstaff, who was waiting in the foyer of the Manchester Arena for his daughter and her pal, took the footage as a memento for his family thinking he would die in a second blast.
In the 137-second clip, he repeatedly calls 16-year-old daughter Ellen’s name. Other concert-goers brush past, unaware of the massacre.
The family travelled to Manchester from Rhyl, North Wales, for the concert, which had been a Christmas present for Ellen.
Nick and wife Kate booked an apartment close to the arena, where they were staying with Ellen and her younger siblings Maisy and Benny.
The dad of three, who had arranged to meet the girls after the concert, said: "I arrived in the foyer at 10.20. There were about 60-80 people hanging around, mainly parents collecting children.
"I saw the explosion 25 ft away, a white flash and the pressure coming towards me, up and to the sides. It blew me back. People in front fell like skittles.
"Then there was complete silence for two seconds. People were cowering in corners covering their heads.
"My instinct was to shout 'Ellen' - I didn't know if she had left her seat early - and then I thought there was bound to be a second explosion.
"There were body parts on the floor to my right. I had heard them dropping with a dull squelching noise, not instantly realising what the sound was.
In the video he can be hard saying: “People are laughing and they don’t know what’s behind me.
"I was convinced there would be a second explosion and I would die. I thought at least people would find my phone and realise I had been trying to reach my daughter."
Nick - who was unharmed other than an ear blast injury - has suffered mental torment since. He said: "On Tuesday night I was putting my little lad to bed.
"I was thinking 'if I had been 5ft closer to the bomber, where that little girl who lost her leg was standing, my children would perhaps now be fatherless.
"I keep thinking how on earth I got out of that without a scratch. I have purposely not been watching TV on my own, and I haven't been able to play the video I took.
"On Thursday I had to go to Llandrillo College. Ellen called her mum saying 'can you and daddy come to me now, I need to see you'.
"Ellen is usually very jolly and confident. We all feel insecure now. I can't stop hugging her, she needs four hugs and kisses every time she leaves the house."
