TWO sisters from Otley have been performing in France with the Manchester Survivors Choir.

Amelia and Ruby Bradbourne were at Manchester Arena on May 22, 2017 for the Ariana Grande concert that was targeted by suicide bomber Salman Abedi.

His actions at the end of the show killed 22 people including a mother-of-two from Otley, Wendy Fawell, and left many more with serious physical and psychological injuries.

The Manchester Survivors Choir was formed to provide those who have lived through the same, traumatic experience to draw strength from one another while enjoying the release of singing and music.

The group describes itself as a cross-generational collection of survivors who ‘meet together in solidarity, song and to eat cake’.

Amelia, 28 and 14 year old Ruby say the support they have received has been invaluable.

Amelia said: “The choir has helped more than 100 survivors to cope, spreading our message of hope and resilience across the country.

“The thing we love most about it is that we are surrounded by people who ‘get it’ and understand how you feel.

“The choir is like a second family to myself and my sister and has benefitted us both so much in our recovery.

“It is always really positive whenever we meet and we all enjoy a great sing-along.”

The choir travelled to Nice in November to represent Manchester and the UK at an International Congress for Victims of Terrorism.

While there it performed twice - first in front of other survivors of terrorist attacks and then in front of a wider audience.

Amelia said: “It was an absolute honour for us to be invited to perform there.

“It was also very emotional.

“We met survivors from other attacks including a fireman who was responding to 9/11, where he tragically lost his brother; a survivor of the Boston Marathon attack; and a survivor of the 7/7 attack in London.

“We performed twice with the biggest performance, on the Friday night, in front of well over 500 people.

“We sang four songs consisting of This Is Me from the Greatest Showman, which is all about being strong and accepting, Fix You by Coldplay, Don’t Look Back In Anger (A Manchester Anthem) by Oasis, and Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars.

“We sing Just The Way You Are in memory of the 22 people who lost their lives and we hold a rose when we sing this in memory of Saffie Rose Roussos (the eight year old was the youngest person to die in the Manchester Arena attack) who loved this song.”