THERE were tears in Bolton as the NHS staff who worked through the night to help the victims of the Manchester bomb came face to face with the horrors of the terrorist attack.

Bolton NHS Foundation Trust has praised the staff who came to the aid of people wounded in the attack in Manchester Arena on Monday night.

Royal Bolton Hospital was put on major incident alert at 11pm.

Staff, some of whom had come to the end of their normal shift, rallied round to treat the 15 wounded who arrived in Bolton, including eight by ambulance.

Trust members have admitted to shedding tears as emotions overwhelmed them during the difficult and trying night.

Chief operating officer Andy Ennis said: "It was truly remarkable. I know we had trained for it but that is not the same.

“Most of them hadn’t been contacted, they decided to come in. It was a truly fabulous response.

“A medical consultant who was working until 11pm turned around and came back in.

“I got called at 11 and it was 12 by the time I got here. The place was fully staffed, everyone was in position, by one o’clock the operation theatres were staffed and beds were cleared.”

Trust chairman David Wakefield extended a “huge thanks” to all staff who work on Monday night.

He added: “I don’t think anyone can be left untouched by what happened this week.

“I know personally from talking to people on wards yesterday that this isn’t just about professionalism. There is emotion and they are human beings, just like the rest of us.

“Andy cried and I cried as well. I don’t know how staff coped with it all, there were some very emotional stories.”

'They witnessed things they shouldn’t have had to' - Bolton doctor tells of treating arena victims in hours after terror attack

Director of nursing, Trish Armstrong-Child spoke of how well staff, particularly junior members of the team, supported families.

She said: “The majority of nurses will not see anything like this in their career and what struck me was how many young nurses there were.

“They put their heart and soul into everything, even just the simple touches to help families feel safe.

“It is emotional, there are lots of families affected.”