Mayor sends message of support to Manchester

Mayor Lianne Dalziel has written to the Mayor of Manchester in the wake of this week's suicide bombing to express Christchurch's support for the terror hit city.

In a letter to Mayor Andy Burnham, written on behalf of the  residents of Christchurch, Ms Dalziel said: "It was with shock and heartfelt sorrow that we watched the story of the terror attack at Manchester Arena unfold. We, on the other side of the world, stopped and stood in disbelief at the horror of this tragedy.

Sir Richard Leese and Lianne Dalziel, pictured together in 2011.

"At the same time we saw your community coming together, united in their grief and support for one another. We were moved and incredibly impressed by the response of your emergency services and community leaders. And we admired the courage and determination of the people who have been most affected. Our hearts go out especially to those who has lost a family member or a friend and all of those who have been seriously injured.

 "We know here in Christchurch, New Zealand, that despite the enormity of the loss, as we too experienced after a devastating series of earthquakes in 2010/11, these events can bring us closer as communities and make us stronger in the face of such devastation.

"We are only too aware that this is the second time that Manchester has been hit by a terrorist attack.  We were fortunate to have the Leader of Manchester City Council, Sir Richard Leese, visit our city in 2011 to talk about how Manchester had reconstructed its city centre after an IRA bombing in 1996. Sir Richard willingly shared his knowledge of Manchester’s recovery, providing us with some valuable insights as we were doing our own recovery planning, and we remain grateful to this day for his generosity. I have copied him into this message so that he will see how heartfelt is our concern for the people of Manchester in the light of what has occurred.

"You have a challenging journey ahead of you. On behalf of the people of Christchurch, I send you and the citizens of Greater Manchester our sincere condolences for the loss you have experienced and we wish you strength in the days and weeks ahead.  Our thoughts are with you all. ''