Manchester attack survivors praised for returning to venue for Little Mix concert 'It was scary but I'm glad we did it'

Max Trobe and his sister were caught up in the panic after a homemade bomb was detonated at the venue in May, but returned months later to face down their fears

Max Trobe and his younger sister at the Little Mix concert at Manchester Arena (Max Trobe/Twitter)

A Little Mix fan was accompanied by her older brother to the group's show at Manchester Arena, just months after they survived the terror attack at the venue after an Ariana Grande concert.

Max Trobe, 18, shared a photo on Twitter of him and his 10-year-old sister at the Little Mix show, which quickly attracted thousands of retweets and comments praising them both for their courage.

"Tonight I brought my sister back to Manchester Arena for the first time since the Ariana Grande concert, and thanks to Little Mix bad memories were replaced with great ones," he wrote.

Speaking to The Independent, Trobe explained that he and his sister were caught up in the panic after Salman Abedi detonated a homemade bomb in the foyer of the arena, which killed 23 people and injuring over 500.

"They decided last minute to wait in the car instead, however I didn't know this," Trobe said. "I told my sister we should go and wait near that exit so that we could be the first ones out but luckily she convinced me to stay in our seats as they were good ones. When the concert ended I rang my mum to tell her we were going, and that's when the bomb went off.

"It was absolute madness, people were flinging themselves from balconies and screaming hysterically. I couldn't reach the stairs so I kept picking up my sister and getting her over the chairs."

Trobe managed to get his sister out of the venue and find his parents. He felt the Little Mix show, held just six months after the attack, would give him an opportunity to face down his fears of returning to a live concert.

"People reminded me I didn't have to go if I didn't want to. It was scary but I am so glad I did it," he said. "Both Ariana and Little Mix's shows were amazing. I'm just as big a fan as my younger sister! They are each amazing and extremely talented."

Offering advice to anyone nervous about attending a live concert in future he added: "Talk about it. I have had numerous conversations with so many people about it, and I would personally love to talk to anybody going through this as I can explain how amazing it feels to come out smiling at the other side."

Little Mix tweeted after the show: "Tonight was incredibly special. Thank you to the incredible audience for organising this and showing nothing but love in the arena tonight."