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‘I lost faith in the world’: Teacher of Southport dance class where three girls were killed speaks for the first time
26 November 2024, 09:55
A teacher leading a Southport dance class where three young girls were stabbed to death has told LBC the experience led her to “lose faith in the world”.
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Yoga teacher Leanne Lucas was overseeing the Taylor Swift-themed dance class at the Hart Space in Southport on on July 29 when the attack happened.
The tragic incident claimed the lives of three of those taking part: Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, Bebe King, 6 and Alice Aguiar, 9.
Ms Lucas shared her story with LBC at a candle-lit vigil in memory of the women and girls who have lost their lives to male violence in Merseyside, coinciding with United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls.
It is the first time she’s spoken publicly about that day.
Read more: Southport triple-child murder suspect Axel Rudakubana in court, as trial date set
“It has just made us feel very unsafe," she admitted.
“My purpose was creating wellbeing events for children and families, and for that to happen where I was, and for the words I spoke and the children spoke, for that to be trampled over has really dampened all of our spirits.
“It left us feeling unsafe, feeling like we just lost faith in the world.”
In the wake of the attack, riots broke out across the country - most notably in Southport and Liverpool.
The subsequent unrest saw Merseyside Police make 151 arrests, with 107 people charged and 82 sentenced to a total of 172 years and seven months in prison, so far.
Nationally, the total number of arrest in connection with the riots continues to edge towards 2,000.
Despite this, Ms Lucas said that she has seen a lot of love and support towards Southport, and that it has made the local community stronger.
She said: “I try to resemble it as us being connected by an invisible piece of string. We’re all connected in the most horrible way.
“Sometimes that string will tangle, fray and knot, but at the best of times, it’ll wrap together and it has brought a lot of us closer.
“It’s created kindness and warmth, and created a strong force that we couldn’t have imagined would be possible out of something so horrific.
She adds: “There’s been a lot of love come from Southport, a lot of love come from all over the world. The impact has been tragic but there has been some goodness at times.”
Ms Lucas now hopes that she can go on to play a larger role in tackling the broader issue of violence against women and girls.
“It’s just very important for me to be able to speak for the girls, as well as myself”, she said.
“I guess my aim of coming forward and dealing with what’s happened, is to try and gain some positive out of what’s been so horrible.
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“Part of my mission to move forward is for change, so hopefully people will be hearing a lot more from me in the future.
“After everything’s happened and things have finished, I’m hoping my voice will get louder and louder and people will join me in that.
“I’m not too sure how we’ll ever move on, apart from using the girls’ memories as a driving force to change things for other people in the future so this doesn’t have to happen to them again.”
Axel Rudakubana, 18, from Lancashire, has been charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder, possession of a knife, production of a biological toxin, and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.
He will next appear at Liverpool Crown Court on December 12.
