Southport falls silent as town tries to heal a year on from its darkest moment

Southport fell silent at 3pm today as residents paused to reflect on the evil which visited the town 12 months ago.

As the town hall bells chimed at 3pm people stood in the street, heads bowed, as they remembered the three little girls who lost their lives, Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven. Their families requested there were no vigils or large public gatherings and that flowers were not left at schools or the scene of the killings.

They also asked for privacy to deal with an “extremely painful and personal time”. By the town hall gardens a small crowd gathered, standing in silence for three minutes - one for each of the murdered children. At the end of the silence they burst out in a spontaneous round of applause.

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The gardens, where hundreds of people gathered for a vigil a day after the attack, are to undergo a £10 million revamp in memory of Bebe, Elsie and Alice. Marion Atkinson, the Labour leader of Sefton council, said the town would always remember the girls, saying: “There’s always going to be a memory of what happened but we can’t let this define us,.”

A short distance away, at the town’s mosque - which was the target of the ugly riots following the attack- a message was pinned to the gates. It read: “The muslim community of Southport extend their heartfelt gratitude to all the people of Southport for the acts of kindness and love shown to us following the tragic acts inflicted on our town …we will always continue to pray for the innocent children and their families.”

At the three minute silence outside the town hall locals remembered the girls. Grace Ashton, 64, told how Southport was a small community where everyone knew someone affected. She told how Leanne Lucas - who was also stabbed while running the Taylor Swift themed dance class- had taught her friend’s children.

“We’re a small town and it was amazing how people came together after what happened. It has affected everyone in some way. My neighbours know Leanne. We’re all there to support each other. It must be a terrible time for the families of those three little angels, but they know we are all here for them.”

Her friend Fiona Gillen, 66, said: “What happened on July 29 last year will never be forgotten. But Southport is a lovely, welcoming place. We can’t allow what he did to ruin our name. People will move on, but we will always remember the names of those three little girls.”

The silence marked a year since Axel Rudakubana launched his attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. In the days following the attack, during which he also attempted to kill eight other children and two adults, violent disorder broke out in the seaside town and across the country.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the country would come together to show “sorrow and solidarity” a year after the attack. He said: “One year on, the whole nation stands with the families of Bebe, Alice and Elsie. We stand together in grief, in honour of the memory of those wonderful children, and in admiration of the families who have shown strength beyond words.

“We stand with all the children and adults who still bear the physical and mental scars of that day - and in awe of those who risked their lives to help. And we stand with the people of Southport, who have shown Britain the meaning of community. The nation wants to put its arms around you all. We will come together today to show our sorrow and solidarity. But also to show our determination to uphold the true legacy of Bebe, Alice and Elsie - one of joy, kindness and love.”

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the lives of the “three innocent young girls” were “extinguished in an act of pure evil”. She posted: “We honour the memories of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar. Their families, and those that survived, carry unimaginable grief and trauma.

“We owe it to them, the people of Southport and communities across the country to demand justice and learn the painful lessons of state failure to ensure nothing like this ever happens again.”

Deputy leader of Sefton Council Paulette Lappin said the community was looking to move forward in a positive way. She said: "It still remains beyond belief, even though I know it to be true, and so it's just very sad. From sadness, we hope to bring goodness and that's all we can do.”

A new playground is also being built at Churchtown Primary School, in memory of Alice and Bebe, who were both pupils. Merseyside Police said their officers would “stand in solidarity” to observe the three-minute silence. In a post on its social media accounts, it said: “One year on, words still fall short. The loss we all feel today as we remember Alice, Elsie and Bebe remains immeasurable.

“We stand with their families, friends, those who were injured and the many others affected by what happened on that tragic day. At 3pm our officers and staff will be standing in solidarity to observe a three-minute silence in memory of the three girls and all those involved.

“May we continue to honour their memory with kindness, compassion and the strength of togetherness. Alice, Elsie and Bebe will forever be in our hearts.” One of the girls attacked on July 29 last year told how she thought she was going to die that day. The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was stabbed in the back and the arm after going to the class with her younger sister.

She is now campaigning for children to have mandatory first aid training at school in response to the growth of knife crime. She said: “Some of the girls were sat down in a circle making bracelets with the teachers, and a couple of them were getting up to get beads. I was standing between two tables and he came through the doors.

“He stabbed a little girl in front of me and then came for me and stabbed my arm. I turned and then he stabbed my back, even though I didn't feel it at the time. There was a bunch of girls huddled around so I just started pushing them down the stairs, telling them to get out and run. I was thinking 'Where's my sister?' and 'We need to get out'.”

She and many of the other victims ran to the house of a neighbour for shelter. “I just thought that I was going to die. "What I remember most about him is his eyes. They just didn't look human, they looked possessed. It was kind of like a dream and you're on a movie set and watching yourself go through it and make these decisions.

"It's just kind of like adrenaline. People like to think they know what they'd do in that situation but, in reality, you don't until you're in it.” She has now launched a campaign, supported by a clothing range called ‘Go Anywhere, Be Anything’ to raise funds, to improve the ability of schoolchildren to help in the event of a knife attack.

She said: “Everyone that's going out and carrying knives is getting younger and younger. And to think that it's people my age is like disgusting. I just want to try and do the best I can to let people know that it's not okay to do that and that they need to think about what they're doing and the risks and how they're harming themselves and other people.”