NO wonder the families of the Hillsborough football disaster victims reacted with anger after four police officers who helped to rescue people, won compensation claims for psychological damage.

It is difficult to fathom the thinking behind the Court of Appeal judgement that the men had been exposed, by the negligence of South Yorkshire police, to excessively horrific events such as were likely to cause psychiatric illness even in a police officer.

The Court overturned a sensible High Court ruling 18 months ago that the men were not entitled to damages for post-traumatic stress disorder because they were not acting beyond the call of duty.

Most of us think that police officer are trained to deal with "excessively horrific events" like brutal murders rapes and even disasters.

Not only are they trained to do their job, policemen and women are paid a very good salary to get on with it. We don't expect them to claim compensation afterwards. And we do not believe the majority would want to claim.

This judgement could open the floodgates for claims by all rescue workers at the Hillsborough ground. Already a further 17 police officers are expected to file claims.

But many victims' families have had compensation turned down because they were not on the scene or not related closely enough to a victim.

No wonder the father of a 14-year-old boy who died after Hillsborough claims there is one rule for police and another for fans.

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