A FIREARMS officer tasked with "eliminating" any further terrorist threat in the moments after the Manchester Arena bombing said it was the "worst feeling" not being able to help casualties.

Pc Lee Moore and his colleague, Pc James Simkin, were the first armed officers to arrive at the Arena complex on the night of May 22 2017 and then enter the City Room foyer where less than 15 minutes earlier Salman Abedi had blown himself up and murdered 22 people and injured hundreds.

The pair conducted a quick "raw" visual check to exclude the possibility of a gunman in the room, following reports of shooting, or any signs of a secondary device.

In a statement to the inquiry, Pc Moore said: "I can say that the events of that night will last with me forever.

"Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw and had to deal with that night.

"My job as a firearms officer was to make the Arena safe by ensuring that the threat of a secondary device or a gunman was fully eliminated to prevent any further casualties or loss of life.

"This meant that we were unable to stop and give first aid to the casualties.

"We had to make sure the foyer and the Arena was safe for people to be in.

"It was the worst feeling not to be able to help those injured and not being able to help other colleagues dealing with the casualties and the deceased victims.

"I fully understand my role as a firearms officer in that situation but I cannot express the feeling of having to perform my role while there are injured people.

"My only solace was that there were personnel in support conducting first aid and further support was arriving.

"I had to make sure that the threat had been eliminated and that there was no further danger to those in support or those already injured."

Greater Manchester Police declared Operation Plato on the night, a specific response to a marauding terrorist firearms attack, following the erroneous reports of gunfire but failed to inform the ambulance and fire services as the force duty officer's telephone line was swamped.

The inquiry has heard the dying and injured had to be evacuated on advertising hoardings and there was a lack of medical help with police officers on the scene screaming for paramedics to attend.

Part of the Plato response is to designate "hot", "warm" and "cold" zones to assess how safe it is for the emergency personnel to operate in, the inquiry has also heard.

Paul Greaney QC, counsel to the inquiry, asked Pc Moore: "Did you think as you were in there that the City Room was a hot zone?"

Pc Moore said: "Initially sir, until we cleared through.

"And then in my mind I had classed that then as a warm zone.

"My dynamic risk assessment of the foyer of that area at that time was it was a warm zone to be able to bring in medics."

He agreed he was "keen to put it mildly" that people should come in to treat the injured and he radioed for medics and trauma kits.

Pc Moore confirmed he had no input in zoning on the night and thought the job of deciding on zones was the force duty officer who the inquiry has previously heard was "overwhelmed" with the number of tasks he faced.