Football grounds across England pay tribute to Hillsborough tragedy

Football grounds across England have observed a minute's silence at 3:06pm this afternoon to mark the approaching 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.

The tragedy on April 15, 1989 saw 96 Liverpool fans die as a result of a crush at the Leppings Lane end of Sheffield Wednesday's stadium.

The FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest was halted in the sixth minute as fans climbed over terrace barriers to reach safety on the pitch.

For their Championship match against Blackburn Rovers, Wednesday replaced 96 blue seats with white seats bearing red roses at the end of the stadium where the Liverpool fans died.

All matches in the Premier League, Football League, Football Conference and FA Cup began seven minutes later than originally scheduled this weekend to allow for the tribute.

Liverpool will face Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday, when another silence will be held.