A former Cumbrian health chief who witnessed the 1989 Hillsborough disaster has welcomed a jury's verdict that the 96 fans who died were unlawfully killed. 

Profession John Ashton, who was subjected to fierce criticism after he publicly criticised the emergency response to the crush by police and ambulance chiefs in Sheffield, said today that he welled up when he heard the verdicts. 

The tragedy happened on the Leppings Lane stand of Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough Stadium during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. 

Years after the tragedy, it emerged that South Yorkshire police had attempted to shift the blame on to those who died, and even arranged to have blood alcohol tests done on the bodies of dead fans, one of them just 10 years old.

Today's verdicts finally exonorate all those fans. 

Speaking today, Dr Ashton said: "They've got the right verdicts. Now we're getting near to the truth - but justice still has to come." 

Dr Ashton, a former director of public health for Cumbria, was at the 1989 game with his two teenage sons and his nephew. 

As the disaster unfolded, he joined the effort to save lives. He said that today was a day for remembering the fans who died and their families, who had fought to bring out the truth for 27 years. 

At a time when few officials were criticising the police or ambulance response to the disaster, Dr Ashton called it "woefully inadequate.” 

The inquest jury today decided that the match commander Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield's actions had amounted to "gross negligence" due to a breach of his duty of care to fans. 

Police errors also added to a dangerous situation at the FA Cup semi-final. When the conclusion of the unlawful killing was revealed at a courtroom in Warrington, families were seen hugging each other in the public gallery and some punched the air. 

The jury also ruled that:

* Police errors caused a dangerous situation at the turnstiles;

* Failures by commanding officers caused a crush on the terraces;

* There were mistakes in the police control box over the order to open the Leppings Lane end exit gates; 

* Defects at the stadium contributed to the disaster; 

* There was an error in the safety certification of the Hillsborough stadium 

* South Yorkshire Police and South Yorkshire Ambulance Service delayed declaring a major incident  and so the emergency response was therefore delayed; 

* And Sheffield Wednesday failed to approve the plans for dedicated turnstiles for each pen.