Manchester Arena Inquiry: Wendy Fawell was 'mother to everyone'

The mother of Manchester bomb victim Wendy Fawell has described the heartache caused by her daughter's death.

A series of hearings are taking place at which relatives of the 22 people killed in the 2017 bombing will provide personal insights into the lives of their loved ones and how their lives were changed forever.

The second day of this week's "pen portraits" at the the Manchester Arena Inquiry continued with the mother of two from Otley, West Yorkshire, who was the manager of an after-school club.

Julia Tiplady described how on the day her daughter died, "part of me died with her".

A statement read by the family's solicitor to the inquiry said: "It was double heartache for me when 11 months later, I lost Michael, Wendy's father.

"I like to think he is with her now doing what he always did - looking after her."

She added: "[He] never got over her death."

Mrs Tiplady said her daughter, who was 50, loved her job as the manager of an after school club.

She added: "They all loved her, especially the girls with long hair, as they would go home with different plaited hair every day.

"I remember she organised foods from around the world for them, cooking different things for them to try."

Mrs Tiplady recalled on one occasion her daughter got a call that one little boy's mother had been delayed and it was nearly time to close the club.

"She had to be home herself so she took him home and gave him his tea and waited for his mother to pick him up - that was all part of the job to Wendy."

Mrs Tiplady said her daughter's death had left the children "bewildered".

She added: "The day I lost her part of me died. It's a different world now without Wendy."

A statement from Wendy's family also said: "Wendy has always been a fun person, the life and soul of the party."

"She loved socialising and she loved her role of being a mum to Adam and Charlotte. She had so much to live for and she gave so much of herself.

"How can anyone put into words the devastation of losing a loving daughter, mother and friend?

"The loss is indescribable, we have never felt such grief."

It further described her as a "fun person" and the "life and soul of the party", who "tried to mother everyone".

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [email protected]