A NEW York firefighter who narrowly escaped death when he was buried under the ruins of the World Trade Center was the guest of honour at Manchester's fundraising football challenge.

Lieutenant Joe Torrillo, accompanied by colleague Lieut Thomas Gogarty, flew into Manchester on Friday to attend the event at the MEN Arena - but admitted that he was not really a "soccer" fan!

Joe, 45, lost hundreds of colleagues and friends in the terrorist attacks on September 11. He was on the ground helping with the rescue operation when the second tower was hit, and was then caught underneath it when it collapsed.

The heroic fireman was injured in the impact but managed to crawl to safety. He was later dug out of the rubble by his colleagues and taken to hospital.

Joe said: "I knew it was a terrorist attack immediately. There's no way two planes flying from different directions into the towers could be a coincidence.

"All the emergency services were aware of the carnage that was going on. We were very nervous- we thought more planes were coming."

Joe, who has served as a firefighter in New York for 21 years, said people in the city were still trying to come to terms with the tragedy.

He said: "The mood is very glum right now. Everyone is still in a state of shock. It's hard to believe that something like this has happened - it's going to be a while before things start to change."

He also said his fellow firefighters had mixed feelings about the revenge attacks. He said: "A lot of them want retaliation and revenge, but we don't want innocent people to get hurt, in Afghanistan or elsewhere."

Joe thanked the people of Manchester for their support, but said: "Soccer's not something we've been into in the past. It's caught on in the last few years, but it's not something we follow religiously."

Thomas said: "It's popular with kids because it's an easy game for them to learn!"

The event last Friday raised a total of $90,000 for the New York appeal. It also gave Manchester City a rare cause for celebration - they beat local rivals United 6-1!