Final dance show to go ahead after disorder

A dance school's final show will go ahead, after being cancelled due to violent disorder sparked by events in Southport on its original date.

Students at the SCDC Dance School were locked inside the Regent Theatre, Hanley, in Stoke-on-Trent on 3 August as trouble broke out in the streets, forcing their final show to be called off. Organisers said the children had been upset.

After a crowdfunding campaign raised more than £13,000, the show, "Never Give Up", will go ahead on Saturday evening.

Sixty arrests were made and 23 people charged following the riots in Hanley and Tamworth.

A crowdfunding campaign raised more than £13,000 for the group

"We’re all very excited, we can’t wait to do it now," said Jenny White, who works at the dance school.

The unrest followed the fatal stabbings of three girls in Southport in July, and was fuelled by false rumours online the suspect in the killings was Muslim and an asylum seeker.

The children were kept inside the Regent Theatre, having already performed their matinee show. Parents and families who had booked tickets were told to stay away.

"Children were really upset, it was hard really," said Ms White.

"It was heartbreaking because they cried, all they wanted to do was dance."

The children had been "really upset" when their show was cancelled, one of the school's staff said

A crowdfunding campaign target of £8,000, to pay a third-party for lighting for the new show. As of the morning of the show, it had raised £13,450.

Ms White said although the process had been "stressful", due to 47 children being unable to take part due to being on holiday, the school could not wait to get back on stage.

"It's amazing, I love being part of the SCDC family," she said.

"Everyone supports each other, we’re all there for each other, the kids are amazing, they just get on with it."