Families of surviving Southport children say they fear they are being forgotten

Eleanor Barlow, Press Association

Families of children who were injured in the Southport attack have said they fear they are being forgotten.

Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, were killed when Axel Rudakubana launched his attack on the Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July 2024.

Twenty-three other girls escaped from the dance class, eight of whom Rudakubana was convicted of attempting to murder.

The surviving children cannot be named after legal orders were put in place to protect their identities.

Five of the families of injured children told the BBC they felt their daughters were being forgotten.

The mother of one of the children told the broadcaster: “There are 23 girls moving around this town, and nobody has any idea who they are.”

One of the fathers said: “Anonymity is not invisibility.

“We hope people bear them in mind because it’s the absolute least they deserve.”

The families also said support for their children had been difficult to access.

The mother of a girl who escaped the building after being stabbed but was dragged back inside by her attacker told the BBC: “The damage that was able to be done in such a short space of time is absolutely harrowing for a child to survive and have to live with.”

Last month, a public inquiry into the attack found it “could and should have been prevented” and there was a failure of any organisation to take ownership of the risk presented by Rudakubana.