Southport chooses hope over hatred as it tries to heal

Elsie Dot Stancombe, Alice da Silva Aguiar and Bebe King died after the attack on 29 July

A love of Taylor Swift and dancing brought three young girls together at a Southport studio for a holiday club on 29 July.

Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, had hoped to sing and dance but instead their young lives were cut short when an attacker entered the class with a knife.

A month on from the stabbing attack, which left 10 others seriously injured, the Merseyside town is trying to rebuild itself with a community group citing "a thousand acts of kindness" which have followed.

Floral tributes and teddies are still being left outside the Atkinson theatre as the Southport community unites in its grief.

Helen Marshall, 71, is one of the Lord Street in Bloom garden volunteers who have been looking after the floral tributes.

She said she "needed" to do it, in a way to "help ease the pain".

"It does help when you are doing something, it helps your spirit because it's such an awful thing," she said.

"I think there's still a lot of pain but this is a town that is pulling together."

The town's residents have been left devastated as funerals for each of the girls have taken place, with crowds lining the streets to show their support.

Andrew Brown, who runs the Stand Up For Southport community group, said: "One horrific act has been followed by a thousand acts of kindness.

"It is a small town with a huge heart."

People are continuing to leave tributes outside The Atkinson, volunteers say

The community has come together for vigils to remember the victims and a bubble blowing event, to help children "blow kisses to heaven" .

The town's youth theatre performed Songs For Southport, which aimed to "make people feel there is hope and happiness".

Deborah Bloom, co-director, said healing from the attack would "be a long and difficult process".

"I'm not sure the town will ever be able to recover from this," she said.

"Our children have been made to feel unsafe and it has shaken the whole community".

She said the concert had given people "the ability to find a glimmer of light in what seems like eternal darkness".

Other people in the town have found different ways to show their support in the weeks that followed.

A knitting group paid tribute with a post box top showing the girls as three angels and charity football matches and many fundraising events have been held for those affected.

Just a day after the knife attack, Southport residents were forced to pull together when the town's mosque on St Luke's Road, was targeted by rioters.

The disorder followed misinformation being spread online about the stabbing attack suspect.

Locals stepped up immediately to clear out the debris and rebuild a wall.

Ibrahim Hussein, Imam and chairman of Southport Mosque, said he felt a month on the community spirit in the town was "even more supportive than before".

A knitted tribute from knitting group, Southport Hookers, of the girls represented as three angels

"There are a lot of people stopping us, asking us if we need help, offering their support, it is wonderful," he said.

"I think Southport is getting closer and much happier by rejecting the hatred."

King Charles expressed his "sympathy and empathy" for the people of Southport when he travelled to the town, with Ms Marshall saying the royal visit helped "boost morale" when "we needed something to lift the awful mood".

When the stabbings took place it was the beginning of the summer holidays but next week children in the town will be returning to the classroom, some without their classmates.

Patrick Hurley, MP for Southport, hopes the town's "School’s First approach" will help the children, with support from educational psychology teams and mental health professionals being offered.

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"It is a very small neighbourhood, in the town there’s only about 70,000 people and everybody knows somebody who has been affected," the Labour MP said.

"We need to make sure that across the medium and longer term there is a package of support there".

Mr Hurley said he wanted to find "a way of remembering the girls which is a celebration of their lives".

He said he was keen for there to be a permanent memorial and an annual community-led celebration was also being looked at for the years to come.

"Nobody in the town wants the town to be known for what happened in July," he added.

“For the people who live here, the town’s best days lie ahead of it".

Young children got to "blow kisses to heaven" at the bubble blowing event

However, some businesses in the town fear visitors had been put off coming to the seaside resort this summer.

Norman Wallis, owner of Southport Pleasureland, said the stabbing attack had created "a frenzy of worry".

"Lord Street has been empty and many businesses are struggling to survive," he said.

Mr Wallis, who is organising a fundraiser in the town on 1 September, hopes the council will prioritise funding to attract visitors back to the town.

'Stronger together'

Sefton Council said there was a recovery fund set up for businesses located in the Hart Street and St Luke's Road areas.

However, Mike Sammon, councillor for the Cambridge ward in Southport, said he had "heard the opposite", that people had been drawn to the town after "seeing what a great community Southport is".

Mr Brown agreed there was a lot to look forward to in the town.

"We are stronger together," he added.