One year on from tragedy, Southport refuses to be defined by attack

Southport must not be defined by last summer's deadly attack on a children's holiday club, the town's leaders have said.

- Josh Halliday

Three people were killed and 11 others injured in the knife attack on 29 July 2024, and today the Merseyside town will hold a three-minute silence and lower flags on public buildings in tribute to those affected.

However, families of the victims have requested that there are no vigils or large public gatherings and that flowers are not left at schools or the scene of the killings.

In line with the wishes of those affected, public bodies are not calling the day an anniversary.

The families of the three girls who were murdered - six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar - asked for privacy during an "extremely painful and personal time".