Two Fort William sisters have spoken of their terror after fleeing the Ariana Grande concert.
Sibel Yildiz, 19, and her sister, Sehnaz, 14, were delighted to get tickets to hear their idol.
Sehnaz, a pupil at Lochaber High School, was given the tickets – among the last to be issued – as a Christmas present last year.
Sibel, who is studying accountancy at Glasgow College, said: “Sehnaz got ‘hot’ tickets which meant we were right beside the stage and really close to Ariana. We watched her go off the stage at the end and we were standing up to leave when we heard a really loud bang.
“At first I thought a massive balloon had gone off. It seemed to come from the top end of the arena at the opposite end from where we were.
“Then everyone started running and screaming. I was really scared and grabbed Sehnaz’s jacket so I wouldn’t lose her. One lady who had two children with her told everyone around us to stop panicking and go quietly up the steps.
“She was from Manchester and was calm and quiet and helped us get out OK.”
Sibel said when she got to the main hallway she thought someone might have a gun as everyone was running for their lives.
“I also thought it might be a terrorist attack and just wanted to get outside.
“It was awful and the traffic was crazy. We contacted our family then starting walking, but we got lost. We eventually found a train station and just managed to catch the last train to Manchester Piccadilly which was near our hotel.
“People were just lovely and kept asking if we were OK. We are just so lucky to have managed to get out and so grateful to get home.”
The girls’ Dad, Abidin, who owns Abi’s Kebabs in the town, said: “We couldn’t believe it when were heard what happened. It is a terrible tragedy. We are just very, very grateful that they are both alright.”