Southport unrest: Police 'feared they would not make it home'

Merseyside Chief Constable Serena Kennedy says some officers feared they would not make it home to their families

Police officers injured during episodes of violent disorder in Merseyside "feared they would not make it home" to their families, the chief constable has said.

More than 80 officers were injured as violence erupted in Southport, Liverpool city centre and Walton in the past six days.

The killing of three children at a holiday club on 29 July in Southport triggered waves of unrest across the country, partly fuelled by far-right activists and online misinformation.

Serena Kennedy, chief constable of Merseyside Police, said some officers involved in responding both to the knife attack and the subsequent disorder were "completely traumatised".

Chief Constable Serena Kennedy and Council Leader Liam Robinson are assuring visitors to the city centre that it is "business as usual"

Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, died during the attack at a studio in Southport's Hart Street, which left ten others injured.

Large groups clashed with police in the town the following day, with bricks and other missiles thrown and damage caused to a mosque.

More scenes of disturbance followed in Liverpool city centre and in Walton on Saturday, where Spellow Lane library was burned out and looted.

Ms Kennedy, along with Liverpool Council leader Liam Robinson, spoke to BBC Radio Merseyside during a walkabout in Liverpool, saying they were aiming to reassure visitors and business owners.

Ms Kennedy said the force had "more than enough officers" on duty to keep people safe in the coming days and allow them to "go about their normal business".

But the police response so far had taken its toll, she confirmed.

Elsie Dot Stancombe, Alice Dasilva Aguiar and Bebe King were killed in the Southport attack

"I have spoken to all of the officers who were injured on Tuesday night, and some of them are talking about thinking they weren't going to make it home to their own children, to their own families," Ms Kennedy said.

She said "hooligans and thugs" involved in disorder across the country should "hang their heads in shame" for attempting to connect their actions to the events of 29 July.

"The parents of those three little girls should be able to grieve and not look at the disorder across the country, and in no way is it connected to what took place last Monday," she said.

Since the unrest erupted in Southport, the force said there had been 36 arrests with 11 people appearing in court to face a variety of charges.

• LIVE: Almost 400 arrested in week of riots as suspects appear in court

Officers are poring over "hours" of CCTV and social media footage to identify those involved in the violence.

Ms Kennedy said: "If those people who weren't arrested on Tuesday night, or over the weekend, are sitting there at home having a cup of tea thinking they have got away it, please be reassured you absolutely haven't got away with it. "

"We are coming for you."

Mr Robinson said community groups and volunteers who joined the effort to clean up the city after the chaos were the ones who truly represented the "real spirit of Liverpool".

Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 17, from the Lancashire village of Banks, has been charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder in connection with the Hart Street stabbings.

He is next due to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on 25 October.