Our daughter died in the Manchester bombings – we’ll never get over it, but we’re backing The Sun’s new competition

GAZING up at the huge nine-storey video screen in Times Square, the family of little Saffie-Rose Roussos – the youngest victim of the Manchester Arena terror attack – are lost for words.

Beaming out from the biggest billboard in the New York tourist hotspot is a beautiful image of Saffie with a message from her parents, Andrew and Lisa: “Happy 16th birthday, shine bright Saffie Rose.”

The Sun set up the ­surprise display to mark what would have been a milestone birthday for Saffie, who was eight when she was killed by suicide bomber Salman Abedi at an Ariana Grande gig on May 22, 2017.

Saffie fell in love with New York on a magical holiday to the city just 12 months before she lost her life.

Reflecting on their emotional family return, Andrew said: “Seeing ­Saffie’s picture up there on the big screen was fantastic.

“She loved Times Square, and if you could ask Saffie where she would want to be on her 16th, she’d have said on that billboard. It is a beautiful memory for us, thanks to The Sun.

“I remember the first time we arrived here. I walked into Times Square and just before I turned the corner I put my hands over Saffie’s eyes.

“When I opened them and she saw all the billboards she was just amazed. She was a real city girl who loved people. So she loved the buzz and excitement of New York.”

The Sun arranged for Andrew and Lisa to visit the Big Apple last week along with their son ­Xander, 18, and daughter Ashlee, 33, from Lisa’s first marriage, to mark what would have been Saffie’s 16th birthday on July 4.

We have also teamed up with the Roussos to celebrate the caring and fun-loving spirit of their beloved daughter by launching a special ­competition in her honour — Saffie’s Smile Awards — to celebrate children aged 16 or under who have gone above and beyond to help ­others.

Our star winner will scoop two flights for a break in New York, while three runners-up will each get VIP theme park passes.

Andrew and Lisa revealed they cherished the chance to launch the prize so Saffie will be remembered for more than just the Manchester Arena tragedy.

They want their daughter’s “magnetic personality” and ­caring nature to be her legacy.

Andrew said: “As a family, we wanted to do something positive, something uplifting and joyful, because that is what Saffie was. She was a very giving and loving child.

“To reward another child or young person who has gone above and beyond in their lives to do something good for somebody else is an amazing legacy.

“A lot of families do different things to remember their loved ones. But knowing Saffie, this is so unique for her.”

The family, who used to run a fish and chip shop in Leyland, Lancs, lost their beloved daughter on what should have been one of the best nights of her life.

Lisa recalled: “It was her first ­concert. The tickets were a Christmas present and she was over the moon.

“It was our first night out together, me, Saffie and Ashlee. Saffie was a huge Ariana Grande fan. She loved her. She counted down the days until the concert, sang every song a million times. She even told all the customers in our shop about it.

“We were in two minds about ­letting her go because we thought she was a little too young and we feared ­losing her in the crowds.

“We decided we’d just stick together and keep each other safe.”

Islamic extremist Abedi killed 22 people and injured hundreds more when he detonated a home-made device in the foyer of Manchester Arena as crowds left the concert.

In 2022, an inquiry into the attack concluded the emergency response had “failed”.

The probe also found there was a “remote possibility” that Saffie, who was just five metres away from Abedi when he struck, could have survived had she received ­different medical treatment.

‘Amazing legacy’

MI5 boss Ken McCallum later said he was “profoundly sorry” the security service had not prevented the ­Manchester attack after missing “the slim chance” they had to stop Abedi.

Reliving the moments before the horror changed their lives for ever, Lisa said: “I knew Ariana Grande would come back on for an encore and I was in two minds about whether to leave. Andrew rang me.

“I said, ‘She’s coming back on for an encore, so I’m going to wait for that — because Saffie would never forgive me if we left early’.

“As we were leaving, I had Saffie’s hand and my arm was outstretched because she was pulling me along, obviously rushing to get back to her dad and Xander, who were outside.

“Then I hit the floor on my side. A massive thud, that’s all I remember.

“I was in and out of consciousness. I can remember thinking, ‘There’s been an explosion and Ashlee was ahead, so hopefully she got out’. Then I thought, ‘Where’s Saffie?’

“There were people screaming for the paramedics to come in and help and no one was sent in. Nobody did for a long, long time. Then somebody finally asked me my name, and I just said ‘Saffie’, because I wanted them to find her.”

Andrew was parked outside the arena with Xander, then 11, waiting to pick up his family.

He said of the bomb going off: “We did hear something but we didn’t know what it was. Everybody was in hysterics, panicking, running, screaming. I automatically thought there was a fight and the kids were scared.”

Andrew, who raced towards the venue looking for his family, likened the scenes outside to a “war zone”.

In evidence, the public inquiry was told that after the explosion, Saffie had shown signs of consciousness and had been asking for her mum.

It heard that a member of the ­public stayed with her for 30 minutes.

A group of people later carried her from the arena on a makeshift stretcher made from an advertising hoarding.

They then flagged down a passing ambulance. It was claimed that, as she was put into the vehicle, Saffie asked a ­paramedic, ‘Am I going to die?’.

Andrew said that much of what he heard about emergency and intelligence service failings on that night just fuelled his anger. He said: “They didn’t have a clue what to do.

“I wished I knew how unprepared we were, because there’s no way they would have gone to that concert.

“Huge, massive mistakes that shouldn’t have happened, happened for MI5, who are supposed to be the best in the world at what they do.”

The family originally thought that Saffie had died instantly in the attack, and drew comfort from believing she did not suffer.

They later learned she had survived for more than an hour.

Lisa said: “Losing a child is the worst thing in the world. But knowing there was a chance, however slim, she could have been saved is like a ­double bereavement.”

Seven hours after finding Ashlee on the ground, covered in blood and with shrapnel injuries, Andrew finally tracked down Lisa to a hospital, although Saffie was still missing.

He was told Lisa had lost seven pints of blood and was being put in an induced coma.

The devastated dad said: “They ­prepared me for the worst. They said to me she will probably have a 20 per cent chance of survival and, if she does survive, there was an 85 per cent chance she would be paralysed from the neck down, as a nut from the bomb was wedged in her neck.

“It’s one of the hardest things as a parent — do you look for your ­daughter, who’s eight years old, or do you go to see your wife?

‘Indomitable spirit’

“There were talks about the children being in nearby hotels, so I was ­convinced Saffie was in a hotel.”

It was the following day before Andrew was informed that Saffie had died. He then faced an agonising two-week wait for his wife to wake from her coma to share the awful news.

Lisa defied all odds to walk again and was clapped out of the hospital by medics months later.

Andrew said: “I know where Saffie got her indomitable spirit from, that’s for sure.”

The family were too devastated to return to the flat where they had lived above their chip shop.

After holidaying in Dorset, they decided to settle there — and they still keep a bedroom for Saffie in their new home.

Lisa said: “It has all her bits and bobs in it and we love that people use it when they come to stay.”

Andrew added of their old home: “I just couldn’t walk the same streets. I couldn’t see the same places. When we came down here, it was a totally different place, beautiful coastline, and we weren’t as exposed to the local news. It gave us a chance to breathe.”

Yet living without Saffie remains a daily struggle.

Lisa, who is still in touch with the parents of her daughter’s best friend, said: “There were four of them that were really close.

“I like to keep up with how they are getting on. One of their mums sent me a photograph the other day of them leaving school and it just completely floored me.

“Her friend Jess told me she was thinking of Saffie all night when they went to their school prom.

“It’s heartbreaking for parents but, when you lose a child, you grieve for them in stages. You grieve them ­leaving school, their proms, their 16th birthdays. It’s ongoing.”

Yet they said being able to honour their much-missed daughter in New York last week was a healing experience.

As well as visiting Times Square, the family retraced the steps they had once taken with Saffie, including walks in Central Park.

The Sun arranged for them to stay in the same hotel by Grand Central station and booked them a special birthday meal at the Grotta Azzurra restaurant in the Little Italy neighbourhood, where they had taken ­Saffie and she had ordered her favourite meal of spaghetti Bolognese.

“Saffie loved her food and the staff brought out a birthday cake, which was so nice,” recalled Andrew.

During their visit, the One World Observatory — home to the highest point in New York — hosted the ­family on its 360-degree viewing deck at a special event to experience the famous Fourth of July Fireworks.

Situated on the ­former World Trade Center site, the family found the ­setting particularly poignant.

Lisa said: “It was the perfect ending to the day. Watching the fireworks, it wasn’t for the Fourth of July. For us it was for Saffie’s birthday. It was like the whole show was just for her.”