Taxi driver who dropped off Southport suspect before Taylor Swift dance class attack left 'traumatised'
8 August 2024, 08:57
The taxi driver who picked up the Southport suspect before he allegedly stabbed three children to death at a Taylor Swift dance class says he has been left 'traumatised' following the incident.
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Local cabbie Gary Poland, 55, claims he dropped off suspect Axel Rudakubana close to the Hart Space community centre shortly on the day the attack took place.
The incident sent shockwaves across the country, leaving three children - Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine - dead on July 29.
Ten others were seriously injured - all of whom have now been released from Alder Hey Children's Hospital.
The 18-year-old, who is originally from Wales but later moved to Banks, Lancashire, was dropped off by Mr Poland in the area earlier in the day.
Following the attack, the cabbie's vehicle was impounded, leaving him unable to work.
Now, the cabbie has said he's been left "very shocked and upset" following the interaction.
It comes as Mr Poland's wife Lynn said: "He’s unable to talk about it at the moment. He feels terrible. All he’s thinking about is what happened to those children."
The cabbie, whose car remains in the hands of police investigating the attacks, has now been left unable to work.
As a result, the local community has shown an outpouring of support for the cabbie.
In the days since the Southport incident, a GoFundMe page was set up by the that tonight smashed through its £2,000 target in a bid to help Mr Poland get a new car so he can continue his trade.
July 29 unfolded, as the parents of the victims begged for an end to riotous scenes that have since spread across the UK, fuelled by far-right misinformation.
Last night saw police across the country come out in force - alongside local communities and pro-immigration protestors, in a bid to counter the perceived threat of rioting from far-Right groups.
The fundraiser, launched by friend Liam Rice, says: "Gary, like all of us, is very shocked and upset by what happened.
"The police have seized his vehicle for forensics. They cannot give him a release date for the vehicle, but from experience, this process can take anywhere from three weeks to six months or even a year.
"Once the car is released, he will have to pay the impound fees to retrieve it.
"Gary only recently bought the car, so he has car payments to make, along with all the usual bills. He is quite traumatized by what happened and, like everyone involved that day, he thinks he could have done more.
"However, no one could have known what was going to happen, so he couldn't have done anything differently.
"We don't know how long his car will be impounded or how long he will be out of work, so £2,000 is just an estimate of how much he will need. All help is greatly appreciated."
It comes as an inquest has been opened into the Southport stabbings which left three young girls dead at a Taylor Swift dance class.
Senior coroner for Sefton, St Helens and Knowsley, Julie Goulding, said it was "impossible to adequately articulate the devastating lifelong effects" of the attack.
