Manchester Ariana Grande concert explosion: Locals open up their doors for stranded concert-goers

Manchester locals have offered their homes as places of refuge for concert-goers, many of them children, stranded in the city after an explosion at a concert which has killed 19 people so far.

Hundreds of Ariana Grande fans were stranded after Tuesday's tragedy, with authorities shutting down services including train lines and cordoning off the Manchester Arena car park.

Displaced teenagers have been offered refuge in local hotels, with reports of up to 60 people sheltering in the Manchester West Holiday Inn foyer while waiting to make contact with their families.

In response to the deadly explosion, hundreds of Manchester locals have offered their homes as safe places to stay with the hashtag #RoomForManchester.

Emergency services personnel speak to people outside Manchester Arena after an explosion.Credit: PA

The hashtag is now trending on Twitter as hundreds of offers of assistance flood in.

Locals have also offered to pay for people's taxi fares and provide them with meals and phone chargers in the aftermath of what UK Prime Minister Theresa May has described as an "appalling terrorist attack" as it stretches into the early hours of Tuesday morning, local time.

There are reports of local cab drivers turning off their meters to ferry stranded Ariana Grande fans.

Holiday Inn staff have also taken to Twitter to offer free rooms at the hotel, which is serving as a base for many unaccompanied youths.

Teenagers seek refuge at a Manchester hotel in the wake of the explosion.Credit: Facebook/jordankenney

Many people have shared the hotel's phone numbers in an attempt to reunite worried parents with their children.

Parents are using social media to help find their children, sharing photos of them and appealing for public help.

Police at Manchester Arena after reports of an explosion.Credit: PA

The #RoomForManchester hashtag is similar to one that trended after the Paris terrorist attacks in November 2015. Parisians used the hashtag #porteouverte to signal they needed a safe place to go, or could provide it to people on the street.

People on social media have praised offers of help as an example of humanity in the wake of the tragedy.