'No flowers' to mark year since Southport attack

The families of the Southport victims and survivors have asked for people not to leave flowers at the scene to mark the first anniversary of the attack.

An open letter from Sefton Council said no large-scale public gatherings or vigils were planned and instead local spaces were being identified for people to go and pay their respects.

The council said there would be a three-minute silence from 15:00 BST on 29 July and asked "everyone to join with us wherever you may be".

Alice Aguiar, aged nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven, and Bebe King, aged six, were murdered at a dance workshop on Hart Street by Axel Rudakubana, then aged 17.

Eight other children and two adults were seriously injured in the knife attack before Rudakubana, from Banks in Lancashire, was arrested.

He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 52 years in January after admitting three counts of murder, 10 of attempted murder, producing the biological toxin ricin and a terrorism offence.

Sefton Council said a "significant" amount of planning and consultation had gone into how the first anniversary of the attack would be marked.

Addressing the public, the council said: "Your compassion has been a source of comfort to all affected through their darkest days.

"The shared grief, countless acts of kindness and especially the commitment to honouring the memory of Alice, Bebe, and Elsie have meant more than words can express.

"This period is incredibly hard for the families of Alice, Bebe and Elsie and all of those children and adults injured or who suffered lifelong psychological impact of witnessing the attack, and we acknowledge the huge impact on their lives too."

It added: "We must not forget the local people who rushed to support and to our emergency responders. They all remain always in our thoughts."

The council urged that "in respect of this deeply personal time" no floral tributes be laid in Hart Street or at any school settings linked to any of the children involved.

Instead, it said, it encouraged people to donate to local causes including The Southport Stronger Together Appeal, Elsie's Story, Bebe's Hive, Hope's Help, Alice's Wonderance, The Southport Hesketh Round Table and North West Air Ambulance.

The open letter said faith and community leaders had been consulted on providing spaces within neighbourhoods for local people to mark the date in their own way.

Flags on public buildings both in Southport and the entire Liverpool City Region will be lowered to half-mast, it added.

A public inquiry into the circumstances before and around the attack, as well as looking at how young people are drawn into "extreme violence" will open at Liverpool Town Hall on Tuesday afternoon.

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