Birmingham Pub Bombings: 40 Years On

21 November 2014, 12:41 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

It's forty years that 21 people died when bombs were set off in two pubs in Birmingham.

182 people were injured on the evening of 21st November 1974, when devices were placed in the Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town on New Street. 

Warnings were sent, but the pubs weren't evacuated in time.

Heart's Rebecca Swash has been speaking to some of those who lost loved ones and continue to campaign to find out what happened.

Birmingham Pub Bombings - 40 Years On

The IRA as immediately and widely blamed for the bombings, though it denied responsibility. A small group called red Flag 74 then claimed it. 

Six Irishmen, who became known as the Birmingham Six, were arrested and handed life in prison in 1975. However, their convictions were quashed 16 years later after scientific evidence and their so-called confessions were unreliable. 

The attacks were the deadliest in England until 7/7 on the London Underground in 2005. 

A memorial service is being held tonight at Birmingham Cathedral.