Jenny Coleman
Reporting from Southport

One woman says she was on Southport's main shopping street, Lord Street, when she realised something was happening.

"I knew something bad was going on because of the amount of police," she says.

"All the shops were shutting their doors and I was thinking something's going on.

"It wasn't until we walked a bit further up and I said ‘What's happened?’ and someone said: ‘He's been caught.’

“And that’s when the terror sets in, and you think ‘Who's being caught? What’s happened?’

"And then we heard it was the children's centre."

Josh Parry
Reporting from Southport

Dave, a local man, has been coordinating donations of food and water at two centres which have been set up for families impacted.

At one supermarket, he says, staff were paying for stock out of their own pockets in order to make sure families had enough.

"I saw the news and I knew immediately I had to help," says Dave.

"Things like this never happen in Southport and I think we’re all in shock. We just wanted to do something to help."

More from eyewitness Colin now, who spoke to our colleagues on Radio 5 Live.

He says neighbours in the community wanted to "get" the suspect before the police came.

One neighbour took about 10 girls to safety in his house, Colin adds. He was helped by another neighbour.

"The community was coming together, everyone was trying to help," he says. "Everyone was trying to save the young kids."

He says another man, a builder, also helped some of the children leave the site of the attack.

Nick Garnett
Reporting from Southport

Joanne, a therapy nurse who lives in the area, says she ran out of work after receiving a call from a friend.

“As soon as she told me I literally ran out of work… my priority was just my girls, my girls, my girls... I am just so thankful to god that they’re safe,” Joanne, who has two daughters aged 11 and 20, says.

She says one of her daughters heard “quite a sinister scream” when she was in the garden around the time of the incident.

“Nobody can believe it. All the local mums have checked in with one another. I’m sure we’re all going to know somebody from that poor group," she adds.

“The mother that I was just consoling, just the look on her face because she knew something had happened to her child, it’s like oh my gosh how do you even comprehend… there’s nothing you can do.”

Air ambulance doctors delivered "advanced emergency care" for one patient, according to the Great North Air Ambulance service.

In a social media post, the service says its team then accompanied the patient to hospital by road.

The service says its "doctor-led crew" worked with teams from the North West Air Ambulance, the Midlands Air Ambulance and other emergency services when it was called to the major incident on Hart Street.

Kaleigh Watterson
Reporting from Southport

People I’ve spoken to here have told of their shock about what’s happened.

They say this is a strong community – everyone knows everyone and they can’t believe this has happened.

Alongside the emergency services, planes remain circling overhead as the airspace has been restricted.

Image source, PA Media

One resident – who lives on the road but did not want to be named – says he heard a woman screaming "my daughter's been stabbed".

He tells the PA News agency he next saw "two police cars rushed up the street the other way".

"When I got back up the street there were a couple of kids on the floor being seen to by paramedics and, as I came back, more police cars were going down and more ambulances gradually started to arrive," he says.

Another witness, who owns a corner shop on Hart Street, says he saw "seven to ten kids" who were bleeding.

Bare Varathan tells PA the children who were injured were "all aged about ten".

He says armed police took a man out of the building where the attack took place – adding he had been told the attacker "arrived in a taxi and had a knife".

Our colleagues on Radio 5 Live have just spoken to Colin, who works on Hart Street in Southport.

He saw a man in a face mask refusing to pay a taxi driver before fleeing the scene. A few moments later, he got a call from one of his employees telling him to leave the shop "immediately".

He says he saw young girls “bleeding”. He called police and told them to “get here now”.

“Ambulances started arriving then, it was just mayhem,” he says. “It’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

He says the children were inside when the incident occured, and the man entered the building.

Neighbours were trying to help, including an adult who was injured, he adds.

• Police responded to an attack on Hart Street, Southport, at around 11:50 BST
• Armed officers arrested a man and seized a knife
• The North West Ambulance Service says crews treated eight victims with stab wounds
• The victims were taken to Aintree University Hospital, Southport and Formby Hospital, and Alder Hey Children's Hospital
• Alder Hey has declared a major incident, telling parents to only bring their children to its emergency department if it is urgent
• Details of the injured have not been confirmed, but witnesses report children among the victims
• A "Taylor Swift yoga and dance workshop" for primary school children was taking place nearby
• Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper have sent their thoughts to the victims and their families, and paid tribute to the emergency service response

Steve Rotheram, mayor of Liverpool City Region, says he is "deeply concerned" by the incident.

"I have been in contact with the police and am being kept updated on the situation," he says in a social media post.

He urges the public to wait for official updates and to not spread "unconfirmed speculation and false information".

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has thanked the police and emergency services for their "swift and courageous" response.

Speaking in the House of Commons this afternoon, she adds that she's in contact with the Merseyside police and crime commissioner.

Patrick Hurley, Southport's MP, says he's "deeply concerned" by the reports of the stabbing in Southport.

"I am hoping for the best possible outcomes to the casualties affected," Hurley writes on social media.

"My thoughts go out to all those affected, their loved ones and to the entire community."

Kaleigh Watterson
Reporting from Southport

There's a huge media presence on this quiet street.

It's usually a quiet area that's not used to seeing this sort of thing here. I grew up around the corner, and it’s not what you expect in this very residential part of Southport – not far from the town street.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has reacted to the incident in Southport, describing it as "horrendous and deeply shocking news".

In a post on social media, he says: "My thoughts are with all those affected.

"I would like to thank the police and emergency services for their swift response."

Starmer says he is "being kept updated as the situation develops".

A "Taylor Swift Yoga and Dance Workshop" aimed at primary school children between year two and year six was taking place near where the incident unfolded.

The organisers have been approached for comment but have not yet responded.

As we reported earlier, casualties were taken to a number of hospitals, including the Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

Journalist Tim Johnson of Eye on Southport says the incident happened at the Hope of Hart children's club.

Jenny Coleman
Live reporter

• Warning: This post contains distressing details

Journalist Tim Johnson of Eye on Southport arrived at the scene about 20 minutes after the police had been called.

He says the incident happened at the Hope of Hart children's club, which is down a back street in a former warehouse building.

He says the victims were children, and describes one girl on a stretcher covered in blood.

"Her parents were running after her. It was horrendous. I’ve never seen anything like it.

"There were so many police cars. It was a mass of blue lights.

"I saw ambulance men and women in tears. People were in tears in the streets."

A local parent, who did not wish to be named, tells the PA news agency his daughter was "traumatised" by the attack.

He said: "My daughter was in it and she was traumatised. She ran away and she's safe."

It's a fast-moving situation and we are waiting for further details to be confirmed. Here's what we know so far:

• Multiple victims were stabbed on Hart Street, Southport, at around 11:50 BST
• A man has has been arrested and there is no wider threat to the public, police say

• The North West Ambulance Service says paramedics treated at least eight victims with stab injuries
• A major incident has been declared at Alder Hey Children's Hospital – although details about the victims have not been confirmed
• Some of those stabbed were also transported to Aintree University Hospital and Southport and Formby Hospital

Image source, PA Media

• Warning: This post contains distressing details

A local business owner – who called the police after the stabbings – has described the scene as like something "in a horror movie".

Colin Parry, owner of Masters Vehicle Body Repairs on Hart Street, tells the PA news agency he believes a number of "young girls" had been stabbed.

Parry also describes mothers heading to the scene of the incident and "screaming".

Police have not yet confirmed the ages or identities of the victims.