'We sing positive songs, eat cake and chat': Manchester Arena attack could have ruined our lives, but singing has saved us

Two friends who were at Manchester Arena watching Ariana Grande on the night of the bombing atrocity have told how singing is helping their recovery. Pop fans Ava Turner and Catherine Burke, who suffered serious injuries in the blast, were aged just 10 at the time.

Speaking ahead of the fifth anniversary of the terror attack later this month, they bravely recalled their memories of the night - and told how singing together in the Manchester Survivors Choir has given them joy through tough times. What should have been one of the best nights of their young lives quickly transformed into the worst when terrorist Salman Abedi, 22, detonated a suicide bomb in the City Room foyer area of the arena following the US superstar's concert.

Catherine and her parents were making their way home and were just five metres away from him at the time. Ava and her mother were watching the encore and escaped unhurt. But all of them - like so many others - were left traumatised by the attack on May 22, 2017, which claimed 22 lives.

Since then the teenagers have formed a firm friendship that has seen them through the hardest of times while singing together in the choir. They have met celebrities like Ed Sheeran and sung uplifting hits in front of huge crowds, and will be together again this month to mark the anniversary, reports The Mirror.

Now 15, Catherine, from Manchester, had been attending her first-ever gig and was later comforted by Ariana in hospital. She said: "I used to love singing Ariana's songs in the kitchen with my dad, so I was really looking forward to seeing her concert. I have a few clear memories from the night, including what I ate before the concert and what happened afterwards.

"I was walking through the foyer when