JOURNALISTS outnumbered members of the public at the opening of the Herald of Free Enterprise inquest on September 7, 1987.

Local, national and international media reporters were at Dover Town Hall to hear stories of tragedy and horror as well as tales of bravery and heroism.

There was the story of the Dover lorry driver who was hurrying home to be with his wife in time for the birth of their first child. He should have caught an earlier ferry but due to a mix-up with Customs he was delayed, and boarded the Herald.

He was in the lounge area of the ferry, along with another lorry driver from Folkestone, when the ship capsized. The Folkestone man survived, but the Dover driver died. Four days later his wife gave birth to a daughter, who will soon celebrate her 20th birthday.

A woman, her two children, her partner and his son, as well as her daughter’s boyfriend, were among those on a cheap day trip. They all died.

So did a London firefighter who was on the ship with his girlfriend, a colleague and wife.

A man and three girls who shared a house in Wembley also took advantage of the cheap day trip. The three girls died.

In some cases, a last minute decision or a simple errand meant the difference between life and death.

A couple gave their two teenage sons £10 and told them to get a meal from the cafe. The boys survived, their parents did not.

A couple were due to go on the trip with their daughter and son-in-law, but the father had just got a new job and had to work. The other three drowned.

Relatives of a woman confined to a wheelchair tried to grab her as the ship capsized. She fell away from them. Another woman grabbed the wheelchair, but the momentum was too great, and they were both swept away to their deaths.