IT WAS supposed to be a family day out, a special treat for the children to celebrate the end of the Easter holidays. But instead they had been stranded in Liverpool, shivering, hungry and forced to spend the night in a gym.
Sitting on an empty picnic hamper, Mrs Joyce Adams, from Derby, was still trying to come to terms with the day's events. One minute her family had been enjoying the races, had even had a modest win, the next they were involved in one of the biggest peacetime evacuations, courtesy of the IRA.
"I just can't understand what they want. Just to ruin our day out, does that make them feel better? What do they get out of it? It's just sick. I can't see how making my kids suffer will give them whatever it is they want."
As her two children shared a blanket and tried to get some sleep in Liverpool's crowded sports centre, her husband Michael surveyed the scene. He said quietly: "It's mayhem but I suppose it's better to have this than deaths. The police are in a no win situation."
Once it became clear that the police were not going to allow the 150th Grand National to go ahead, Liverpool's emergency services moved into action. Over 70,000 race goers were evacuated, 40,000 of whom were from outside the area. The Princess Royal, the deputy Labour Party leader, Mr John Prescott, and the shadow Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook, were caught up in the evacuation.
Over 20,000 cars and hundreds of coaches were marooned in the police cordon, leaving many without their belongings and some without money. The horses were also left without water and hay for several hours until anti terrorist officers had searched the area.
Eight sports centres, two churches and two schools were opened to house over 1,000 people. Supermarkets donated food. Hospitals and old people's homes gave spare bedding and mattresses.
"We will be working through the night, trying to make sure people aren't forced to sleep on the streets. Everybody seems very calm, just tired and fed up," said Mr Graham Burgess, director of Liverpool's social services.
At the Emmanuel church, which is near the course, hundreds of race goers were offered soup and tea by locals. Close to tears, Amy Shaw, who had been working at a hospitality tent, said she had been separated from her colleagues during the evacuation and had only the clothes she was wearing.
"I don't know what to do. The police are trying to find my boss and friends. People have lent me money to ring my parents, but they live in London and can't really come and get me. I'm stuck here," she said.
Emergency buses and trains were mobilised to run special services, and local residents swamped BBC Radio Merseyside with offers of accommodation for the stranded fans. Over 4,000 race goers accepted and slept on stranger's floors and sofas.
According to the police, many residents even wandered the city centre's streets and public houses offering accommodation.
"The people of Liverpool have been great. This couple we met in a pub were saying to me, bring your mates and come and stay with us. But I am with a group of 45, so I didn't think they would want that," said Mr Barry Howell from Leicester.
At Lime Street Station, hundreds of people queued trying to get tickets out of the city and somewhere near to home. Whenever an official announced that another train was now in service, the crowds cheered.
Mr Graham Redmond said the bomb scare had evoked the spirit of Dunkirk, with everybody helping each other. "When they announced it, this Scotsman swore at the IRA and started handing around his bottle of whiskey to everybody. I'm not political but I took a swig," he recalled, laughing.
But many of the local hotels and taxis exploited the situation. Some race goers, who had booked rooms, returned to their hotels only to find themselves back on the streets - the managements had been offered more money by stranded people.
Many taxi drivers simply trebled their prices, charging £60 for the eight mile journey from Aintree to the city centre.
Despite the "mayhem", police described the race goers as goodhumoured. Mr Chris Steele turned down an offer of accommodation in Liverpool as he wanted to get home to York and see himself on the news.
"The police told me I could stay at a gym in Toxteth, but I didn't fancy that. My car is stuck at Aintree, the police said they would let me know when I could collect it, God knows when that will be and I need it for work. At least I am on Sky. My wife saw me and videoed it. They could make a film out of today," he said.
At the Shamrock public house in the city centre, several of the Irish race goers, who had travelled over, specially, described the IRA as "animals" while the owner insisted he was not worried about an anti Irish backlash.