Two sisters showed ‘remarkable’ bravery as they ran from Southport attacker

Two sisters who escaped the Southport attack showed “remarkable” bravery as they ran from the scene, their parents have told the public inquiry.

The mother of the two girls, who attended the Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29 last year, said they had run “for their lives” to get away from attacker Axel Rudakubana.

She said: “In the chaos of all the children trying to get out they got separated.

“We later saw their remarkable displays of bravery on CCTV as they ran.

“Watching this knowing that we were not there to protect them is one of the hardest things we have ever had to endure and is incredibly difficult to process.”

Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine; Bebe King, six; and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were killed by Rudakubana, who attempted to murder eight other children and two adults.

Giving impact evidence to the Southport Inquiry at Liverpool Town Hall on Thursday, the mother of the girls, referred to as child V and child W, said their youngest daughter was kept safe in a car and their eldest in a house across the road from the studio on Hart Street.

“We will never be able to find the words to express our gratitude to the people who selflessly came forward to keep them safe until we arrived at the scene,” she said.

She added: “In the immediate aftermath of the attack, both girls were trying to tell us how someone had come into their class ‘with a fake knife and fake blood’.

“Their little minds reeling, trying to get to grips with how someone would be capable of such atrocities, not wanting to or being able to believe that it was real.

“The conversations that we had to have with them following this don’t get much more difficult.”

The father of the girls, who read the second half of the evidence, said the family had made a choice to move forward with “love, joy and hope”.

His voice broke with emotion as he said: “We will not allow him to take more from us than he already has. We are in awe of the strength, determination and resilience of our girls.”

He added: “This inquiry matters. It matters for our children, and for every child who was there that day.

“It matters for every parent who has sat up at night, terrified, knowing how close they came to losing their child.

“And it matters for those who did lose their children, who we think about and carry in our hearts every single day.”

The couple hugged as they finished reading the statement.

The first phase of the inquiry, expected to run until November, will examine Rudakubana’s history and his dealings with relevant agencies, along with any missed opportunities to prevent what happened.