Leeds man on trial tells of "eerie" 9/11 site after twin-towers terror attacks

Rory McGrath, who is accused of punching a police officer outside The Miners in Garforth in 1980, has lived in America for the past 36 years.

Giving evidence at Leeds Crown Court, the retired construction worker was quizzed by his barrister about his work in the US. He was brought to the site of the collapsed twin towers, in which nearly 3,000 people were killed, to help build temporary morgues for the bodies found among the “pile” – the tonnes of twisted metal and rubble.

The 64-year-old, who grew up in Seacroft, said they were permitted onto the site two days after the collapse.

He said: “There were bodies and body parts everywhere. We just couldn’t keep up. It was an eerie time and it was still very dangerous because it was unstable.

“There were half drunken cups of coffee, doughnuts with bites taken out of them, and newspapers dated September 11. We used to stay down there days at a time.”

He said the work he carried out eventually led to his retirement in 2011 with lung problems. During his time in American he also worked on the horse and carriages in Manhattan’s famous Central Park.

Four other men were convicted in 1980 over the Garforth pub attack which left the officer with a broken nose. Irish-born McGrath fled the country before he could stand trial.

He said a heavily-armed SWAT team was sent to arrest him at his New York home before he was flown back to Britain last year. He has been held on remand in HMP Leeds since.

He had been living in Tadcaster in 1980 and was in Garforth drinking on the night of the assault. He admits being at the scene but denies punching the officer.

McGrath said after fleeing Yorkshire he went to Dublin and until he left for America in 1986. He became a US citizen in 2002. The trial continues.