Southport teachers tell inquiry of feeling guilt and of being 'ostracised'

A dance teacher who led the Taylor Swift-themed children's workshop that was attacked in Southport has described feeling "tortured" by a "crushing" guilt over the atrocity.

- Josh Halliday

Heidi Liddle, who shielded one little girl inside a bathroom during the attack, said the trauma of that day had "fractured every part of my brain and my life".

In tearful testimony to the inquiry being held at Liverpool town hall, Liddle said: "Although people have told me this incident is not my fault, the guilt I bear is crushing. I feel responsible.

"I tried so hard to usher as many children out as possible, to get them away from him [the attacker]. I constantly replay what happened over and over in my mind, what I was able to do, what else could I have done, the what-ifs."

Her friend Leanne Lucas, with whom she led the workshop, said "survival instincts" had guided her decision to rush out of the building with children.

Lucas, 35, phoned 999 in the "absolute chaos" of trying to escape after being stabbed five times by Axel Rudakubana, who fractured her shoulder blade and cut off parts of her spine. She fell unconscious from her injuries after calling for help.