Image source, PA Media

The newly-elected MP for Southport, Patrick Hurley, praises the community organisations that have "stepped up to the plate", including a local football club opening their function rooms to host drop-in support services.

"There will be a time for analysis and a more methodical approach, but right now the community needs to take a breath and make sure we know collectively how to cope with such a shocking incident," he tells Radio 5 Live.

Hurley is urging people not to speculate online, saying: "It's not what the community, town or families affected need."

Cachella Smith
Live reporter

As the day goes on, we're learning more about the attack, the victims and the suspect. Here's what we know so far:

• In the last hour, Merseyside Police confirmed a third child has died from her injuries - a nine-year-old girl
• The two children killed yesterday have also been confirmed as two girls, aged six and seven
• Five children and two adults are still in a critical condition, police say
• The BBC has learnt the 17-year-old suspect was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents. He had moved to the Southport area in 2013 - he is still being questioned by police
• A former neighbour of the suspect's family says his parents were a "lovely couple" and they had "normal kids"
• The police have urged people not to speculate - and say a name being shared on social media in connection with the suspect is incorrect. Our colleagues at BBC Verify have looked at some of the rumours circulating
• Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has joined those laying flowers at the scene this morning. The local community is still reeling - some shops have closed out of respect and a vigil is planned for tonight

Daniel Sandford & Callum May
Reporting from Southport

Image source, Level Up gym

A personal trainer who intervened in the attack in Southport has been described as "truly fearless" by colleagues.

Joel Verite - who also works as a window cleaner - was nearby when he heard screams from a woman who had fled the scene.

She told him about what was happening inside, and he went straight in to confront the man before waiting for police to arrive.

"In that situation no one knows how they’re going to react, no one knows if their fight or flight is going to kick in," says Verite’s colleague at the Level Up gym in Southport, Kyle Shaw.

"I think he was truly fearless and I'm so personally so proud of him. What a hero, to go in in that situation amongst all that chaos, and just completely zone out of any panic and go in and help sort the situation out.

"What a hero and what a man."

Shaw says Verite also carried one child away from the scene. He was not physically injured in the incident, Shaw adds.

Staff from a nearby nursery have laid flowers and a heart-shaped message decorated with children's handprints at Hart Street.

The tribute from Natterjacks Day Nursery says: "The brightest stars are now dancing with the angels in heaven. Shine bright little ones, we will never forget your smiles and laughter."

Hywel Griffith
Wales correspondent

Helen, a neighbour of the suspect's family while they lived in Cardiff, has spoken of her shock at hearing the news from Southport.

"They were a lovely young couple. They were little boys, they were boisterous. Mum was a stay-at-home mum, Dad was nice, he went to work every day.

"They had a small family car, a little hatchback. They said they'd come from Rwanda and I thought, whatever you've been through, you deserve privacy.

"I'm not going to pry, you know, you've already got a story, and it's probably not a good one. It (the Rwandan genocide) had been in the news about a year before that.

"They were a normal family and they were normal kids trying to make ends meet. We chatted over the garden fence. You know, in the summer the back doors open, we chatted over the fence."

As a reminder, the suspect cannot be named for legal reasons.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper tells reporters at the scene that it's "unimaginable what has happened" and "beyond every parent's worst nightmare".

"You had what should have been a children's party, having fun in the beginning of the summer holidays, [which turned into] something so devastating," she says.

Cooper acknowledges there is a "deep concern" about knife crime across the country, and says it is Prime Minister Keir Starmer's "moral mission" to address it.

As we've been reporting, the stabbing happened at a fully-booked summer holiday club in the Merseyside town of Southport, about 10 miles north of Liverpool.

The Taylor Swift-themed event was taking place at the Hart Space studio, close to a vehicle repair garage, in Hart Street, roughly a mile east of the centre of town.

More on everything we know so far here.

Unverified rumours about the attack circulate onlinepublished at 12:17 British Summer Time 30 July

12:17 BST 30 July

By Shayan Sardarizadeh

Almost immediately after the deadly stabbing attack in Southport, baseless rumours began spreading online.

While police and emergency services were still responding to the attack, a widely shared LinkedIn post claimed without evidence that "a migrant" was responsible.

But the most viral source of rumours so far has been a report published on an obscure US-based website which claims to cover "breaking news".

The report falsely claims that that the 17-year old suspect is an "asylum seeker" named "Ali Al-Shakati", who "arrived in the UK by boat last year".

Merseyside Police has confirmed that the suspect was born in Cardiff, and has yet to identify the 17-year-old.

The report also adds that the suspect was "on the MI6 watch list", despite the fact that it is MI5, not MI6, that deals with domestic counter-terrorism cases.

The name "Ali Al-Shakati" has since been widely shared online in posts viewed by millions.

Some other outlets, including Russia's RT news channel, have also reported this name, citing the US-based website.

Other variations of the report, including the claim that the suspect was a "Channel migrant", have also been widely circulated.

Merseyside Police also say a name being shared on social media in connection with the suspect is incorrect.

They are urging people not to speculate on details while the investigation is ongoing.

We'll have more on this in a moment.

More now from Merseyside Police, who say the two victims who died in the attack yesterday were girls aged six and seven.

As we've just reported, a third girl, aged nine, died from her injuries in the early hours of this morning.

This is the first time police have confirmed the victims' genders. Until this point, we knew only that they were children.

Eight other children were stabbed in the attack, police say. Five of the children and two adults remain in a critical condition.

A nine-year-old girl has become the third child to die after the Southport stabbings, Merseyside Police say.

We've been seeing signs on local shops that have closed out of respect for the families affected.

One pub in Southport, The Wellington, has shut to allow staff to attend the vigil being held this evening - but will reopen after the event.

Another, the Corridor Bar and Eatery, says it will donate all its tips in August to Alder Hey Children's Hospital and then match that amount in a donation to the air ambulance service.

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

The BBC can report that the 17-year-old currently being questioned by the police in connection with the attack in Southport was born in Cardiff and moved to the Southport area in 2013.

His parents are from Rwanda and he has an older brother who was also born in Cardiff.

Dave Guest
Reporting from outside Alder Hey Children's Hospital

We know that there were six children still in a critical condition this morning, as well as the two adults who, in the words of police, bravely fought to try and save the children.

A number of the children are here at Alder Hey - this is a world-leading centre for paediatrics. It currently treats about 450,000 children every year.

Even the most seasoned medical staff here must have been shocked by what they received yesterday.

Staff have been working around the clock after they declared a serious incident yesterday, which has since been stood down.

Other children are being treated at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has laid flowers at the police cordon on Hart Street, alongside police chiefs and the town's MP.

She is expected to make a statement in the House of Commons later today.

Local councillor Sean Halsall, who grew up on Hart Street where the attack happened, says this is not something you'd expect to happen anywhere - but especially not in this "sleepy, coastal town".

"I’m shell-shocked, to be honest," says Halsall, who is a councillor in a neighbouring ward.

He says as a child he played outside on the street with "no worry of antisocial behaviour".

Image source, Instagram

Tributes have poured in online for Leanne Lucas, the yoga teacher who the BBC understands was running the summer holiday dance and yoga class.

"Your bravery has touched the heart of the nation, we are all praying for you and the families affected," one Instagram user says.

"Thoughts and prayers are with you Leanne, keep fighting," another writes.

Dozens of others also flooded the comment section of the Instagram page, offering their thoughts, prayers and love.

Image source, PA Media

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is laying flowers at the scene in Southport.

Cooper walked to the cordon with Merseyside Chief Constable Serena Kennedy and Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell.

Taylor Swift has just released a tribute in a post on Instagram.

"The horror of yesterday's attack in Southport is washing over me continuously and I'm just completely in shock," she writes.

"The loss of life and innocence, and the horrendous trauma inflicted on everyone who was there, the families and first responders.

"These were just little kids at a dance class. I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families."

Image source, Taylor Swift/Instagram

Image source, Instagram

The BBC understands that the teacher running the Taylor Swift dance and yoga class that was attacked on Monday is Leanne Lucas, thought to be 35.

Social media posts advertising the Southport children's holiday class name Lucas as the organiser.

Since the attack, tributes on social media have poured in praising Lucas for her bravery. Her condition has not been confirmed by authorities.