Locked door 'would have made Southport attack worse'

Leanne Lucas was stabbed repeatedly in the attack required multiple surgeries

A dance teacher wounded in the Southport attack told a public inquiry if the doors to the building had been locked the outcome would have been "severely worse".

Leanne Lucas was hosting a Taylor Swift-themed workshop at the Hart Space in Hart Street on 29 July 2024 when Axel Rudakubana attacked, murdering three girls.

A summary of evidence from Ms Lucas - who was not well enough to attend the inquiry - heard she believed that had the doors been locked, the killer would have "found a way" in or waited outside for people to leave, blocking exits and trapping them.

The inquiry heard fire safety legislation required the main entrance and studio doors remained unlocked as they were fire exits.

Nicholas Moss KC, lead counsel to the inquiry being held at Liverpool Town Hall, summarised Ms Lucas's evidence about how the event was planned and what health and safety procedures were in place.

Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar were murdered in the attack on 29 July 2024

Ms Lucas said in her statement: "Nothing ever advised me that I should plan for what to do if a workshop came under attack."

Mr Moss described how she believed she had completed the "relevant documentation aligned with guidelines", but described how it as was "all irrelevant" when faced with an "unforeseen life and death situation".

Mr Moss said: "If [Ms Lucas] believed the event carried the risk of an attack, she would not have delivered the workshop."

The entrance to the Hart Space studio

Earlier the inquiry heard from Jennifer Scholes, who leased the Hart Space dance studio and sub-let it to other traders to run classes or workshops.

Ms Scholes, who had been letting the studio out to Ms Lucas regularly before the attack, fought back tears as she described her as a "wonderful human being" and an "amazing teacher".

The inquiry heard Ms Scholes had arrived at the Hart Space in the aftermath of the attack and found Ms Lucas slumped at the side of a van.

When asked what had happened and whether she was ok, Ms Lucas replied that: "Someone came in and started stabbing the kids, the kids were being stabbed."

Appearing over video-link, Ms Scholes said: "I have had no problems with her conduct. She was trustworthy.

"She was always there on time, transparent, and I could always tell she genuinely loved her job and the children."

Ms Scholes confirmed that Department for Education safeguarding guidance about out-of-school activities for children made no mention of locked doors, video entry systems or CCTV coverage.

The inquiry heard that in the five years Ms Scholes had leased the studio before the attack, there had never been an "intruder or unwanted visitor".

She added: "I don't think anybody would have imagined that something so awful could have happened to any venue."

Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, died in the attack, and ten other people - eight children and two adults, including Ms Lucas - were injured.

The inquiry continues.