How Southport murders have 'forever changed' town

Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, and Bebe King, six, were killed in the attack in July

Still picking up the pieces from an atrocity that has left an indelible mark on the town, Southport has now "changed" forever, its residents have said.

While the sentencing of Axel Rudakubana for the murders of three children later to an extent concludes what could have been a much longer and more painful legal process, families have said their grieving and healing will continue indefinitely.

One resident, Mike Ainscough, said people would continue to "tremble" with worry at the sight of blue flashing lights.

Mr Ainscough, who tended to thousands of flowers and tributes left in the wake of the attack, said while the town will indeed move on, the trauma left behind would mean a sense of worry would always be in the back of people's minds.

He said the whole town "still grieves greatly".

"My wife does a two-mile walk but the moment she sees a blue flashing light or if there's been a crunch at the end of the street, her first thought is not it's a car bump, her first thought is 'has something happened again?'," he said.

"That is in the back of a lot of people's minds.

"I would think there are a lot of people in Southport who would tremble when they see blue lights".

Mike Ainscough collected floral tributes and cuddly toys from people in the wake of the killings

Yet despite the worry, Mr Ainscough said the town was determined to move on in a positive way and people only have to look at the reaction of the community following the attack to see evidence of that.

He received 300 buckets of flowers, 150 potted plants and 15 sacks of cuddly toys from locals and people visiting from far and wide to offer their support in a "war-time spirit", he said.

"You couldn't buy a bunch of flowers in Southport at one stage," he continued.

"It was an amazing response, it helped people with the grief as well and that's why I tried to maintain it because at least it was something nice."

The community and visitors alike have been praised for the way they came together

Rae Brooke, chief executive of the community foundation for Merseyside, who helped raise more than £800,000 for families and the local community, agreed the response had been "incredible".

She said: "What has been encouraging is the fact that there has been a quiet dignity here when you think about everything that has happened, the scale of the trauma.

"We have seen people doing exceptional acts of kindness for each other."

From vigils and services to clean-up operations after the riots that broke out following the attack, to theatre performances and bubble-blowing displays, many events were held to bring the community together.

But Ms Brooke admitted the community will need time to rebuild and said that "could take years".

• Southport 'angry' that killer known to authorities

• Tensions over how Southport details went public

• 'I'm pleased they don't have to relive the attack'

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced on Wednesday people trying to buy knives online will face tougher measures to prove their age as the fallout from the attack continues.

It comes after it emerged that Rudakubana bought a knife from Amazon when he was just 17, despite existing laws which prohibit the sale of most knives to under-18s.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said it was a "total disgrace" that he was able to buy a knife when he already had a conviction for violence.

However Mike Sammon, a Liberal Democrat councillor for the Cambridge ward in the town, said people's focus should go wider than simply scrutinising how Rudakubana could have been stopped

Collectively, there needs to be a push to prevent an incident like this ever happening again, he said.

Axel Rudakubana was due to go on trial but on Monday changed his pleas to guilty

"We need to focus on how we can make sure this doesn't happen again rather than putting parents through unnecessary anguish of how he could have been stopped," the councillor said.

"I don't think he could have been stopped or it could have been predicted, especially not in a town like Southport.

"We have to focus on how we will move forward together and offer the support we can".