'I just can't imagine the bereaved families' anguish'

Back in the day the prevailing view was that, to be a good journalist, you always needed to remain detached from what you were reporting on.

According to that standard, I’m not a good journalist.

So much information comes into our Salford newsroom every day from many different sources: the emergency services, press officers, social media... the list goes on.

On Monday, though, we first learned about what was happening in Southport shortly after midday when we received a phone call from one of our viewers.

Emails followed, then there were messages on social media. All mentioned the words "knife attack" and "children".

Everyone stopped.

While we didn’t know exactly what had happened, it sounded very serious.

I headed straight for the door while camera crews and reporters were also diverted from whatever they were doing to Southport.

Emergency services scrambled to the attack scene

By this time, Hart Street was already full of first responders.

Journalists are seldom the first on the scene - we arrive late and report on what happened.

That is why my thoughts this week have been with those who initially witnessed the horrific scene.

One police officer told me colleagues can never unsee the things they saw; they will never forget the sounds they heard.

That's also true for heroic members of the public who tried to tackle the attacker.

And how is it possible to imagine the anguish of the families bereaved on Southport’s darkest day? You just can't.

The first bunch of flowers arrived by the police cordon late that afternoon.

A police officer took it and placed it gently against a garden wall. As the hours went by thousands more followed. It was the start of an outpouring of love and support which has gathered pace ever since.

Barely 24 hours later, when a mindless minority arrived in the town, using the tragedy as an excuse to cause trouble, the same Merseyside Police officers faced them down before the community came back out and repaired the damage.

'Nothing but kindness'

Sometimes journalists reporting on tragedies become a target for angry residents, frustrated by being at the centre of a media storm.

In Southport, I’ve seen nothing but kindness: bottles of water offered to reporters, working for hours in the hot sun.

A lovely chap called Malcolm, who spotted me standing uncomfortably in the street, offered me the use of his bathroom.

Everyone in the seaside resort was - and is - in shock. As my friend and colleague Kaleigh Watterson, who grew up in Southport and even lived for a time in Hart Street, wrote earlier this week: "This sort of thing doesn't happen around here."

"I’m 69," one woman told me, "you think you’ve seen it all. It doesn’t bear thinking about."

As we talked quietly, even experienced reporters were just shaking their heads in disbelief.

For 23 minutes of our live programme on Monday evening, we were desperately waiting for updates from the police.

Chief Constable Serena Kennedy spoke to the media on Monday evening

We knew the news was likely to be bad given the vivid eye witness accounts we had gathered, the sheer scale of the emergency services' response, and the fact Merseyside’s chief constable was to lead the press conference.

Serena Kennedy’s briefing began very quickly - we had warned our viewers that we would likely suddenly cross to the media briefing.

We were in the middle of the weather forecast, which usually ends North West Tonight, when I heard the chief constable's voice in my earpiece.

The first words I heard from Ms Kennedy were "… of the injuries sustained in this morning’s knife attack".

She went on to outline the other terrible injuries suffered by other children and adults who had rushed to save them.

At the same time, I was told by a member of our production gallery team in Salford that two children had been killed.

After the chief constable finished speaking, I apologised if viewers at home had not heard the start of the statement.

"Two children are dead," I said, struggling not to cry.

Many viewers have since told me they did.

As we now know, three little girls - who had gone to dance to Taylor Swift's music, were killed.

The people of Southport and beyond will never forget Alice Dasilva Aguiar, Bebe King and Elsie Dot Stancombe.

My heart goes out to their families, friends and everyone affected by the awful events of this week.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas to [e-mail]