The event soon turned to tragedy during the The Northern WW11 Associations - battle re-enactment. One of the soldiers was severely injured by an explosion from a Mortar being used in the display. Hundreds watched while the casualty was treated by first aid personnel on site until the arrival of the West Yorkshire ambulance responders, backed up by ambulance crews.
The West Yorkshire Ambulance Helicopter had been requested but both were out at incidents.
As people attended to the casualty it became clear from the reports that the mans hand had been blown off in the explosion with his son also being caught up and injured in the incident
The scene was preserved by the police with firearms officers attended to check that the Mortar had been made safe. Crime Scene Investigators attended and later the Mortar was taken away by an armed police response team. People were shocked and one eye witness described the scene as horrific. The event field was cordoned off eventually and all anxious on lookers removed from the area.
The injured parties were taken to St James Hospital in Leeds, Police investigations are ongoing
