Southport teacher: Use dead girls' memories as driving force for change

A DANCE teacher who was injured in the Southport knife attack that left three little girls dead has insisted that the victims’ memories should serve as a driving force for change.

- Mathilde Grandjean

Leanne Lucas was overseeing a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the Merseyside town on July 29 when the attack occurred.

Three girls - Bebe King, six, Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven - died following the stabbing, which happened at the Hart Space venue.

Yesterday, Ms Lucas, 35, spoke publicly for the first time since the killings.

During a candlelit vigil to remember the women and girls who have lost their lives to male violence, she told LBC Radio the attack had left her and her community feeling "very unsafe".

However, she said she hoped the girls’ memories could prompt change in the hope a similar incident cannot happen again.