Chris Parker: Homeless man who saved Manchester attack victims reunited with his mother

Jessica Parker saw estranged son on TV news when he was interviewed about heroic efforts to help injured Ariana Grande fans fleeing arena

Chris Parker was hailed a hero after helping victims of the Manchester Attack (Matthew Pover)

A rough sleeper who came to the aid of the Manchester Arena bombing victims has been reunited with his estranged mother - after she spotted him in news reports of the attack.

Chris Parker, 33, was in the foyer area of the venue when the device went off as music fans left the Ariana Grande concert last Monday.

Jessica Parker, of Sprowston, Norfolk, saw her son for the first time in five years on Friday.

She told the BBC: “It was heart wrenching, absolutely heart wrenching to know that he actually still wanted his mum.

“He told me very matter-of-factly what he did and said, 'Mum, I've just done what anybody else would do'.

“I said, 'I don't think so Chris, I think you did something really wonderful and you need to remember that'.”

Mr Parker regularly went to beg at the Arena as concert crowds head home and recalled hearing a bang and seeing a white flash as the bomb went off.

Speaking last week, he said: “It knocked me to the floor and then I got up and instead of running away, my gut instinct was to run back and try and help.

“There was people lying on the floor everywhere.

“I saw a little girl... she had no legs. I wrapped her in one of the merchandise T-shirts and I said 'Where is your mum and daddy?' She said, 'My dad is at work, my mum is up there'.”

He also tended to a woman who was badly hurt from the bombing with serious leg and head injuries.

He said: “She passed away in my arms. I haven't stopped crying.”

Copyright Press Association