The funeral of Elsie Dot Stancombe, who died in the Southport attack, has taken place as her parents paid tribute to their “truly unforgettable” daughter.
The seven-year-old was one of three girls killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last month.
Her family said they wanted today to be known as “Elsie’s Special Day” and a celebration of her life.
Elsie’s coffin was carried to St John’s Church in Birkdale on a horse-drawn carriage – with mourners asked to wear pastel or bright colours and the streets adorned with pink ribbons.
Image: Elsie’s parents walked behind the horse-drawn carriage. Pic: PA
Image: Members of Elsie’s cheerleading squad formed a guard of honour. Pic: PA
Image: Pic: PA
A choir and soloist performed songs including Wind Beneath My Wings and Fleetwood Mac’s Songbird as they waited for the cortege to arrive.
Elsie’s cheerleading group formed a guard of honour, while the family’s dog was also outside the church.
Image: Elsie with her mum Jenni, dad David and three-year-old sister Rosie. Pic: Mersyside Police
Image: (L-R) Elsie Dot Stancombe, Alice da Silva Aguiar and Bebe King.
Pic: Merseyside Police
At the end of the service, a singer performed Taylor Swift’s Love Story – one of Elsie’s favourite songs – as her coffin was carried out through an archway of balloons.
The church was full to capacity and featured a number of moving tributes and readings.
Reverend Jennie Hardy remembered how Elsie was “a little girl who loved a big party” while teacher Katie Sykes said she “made everybody smile just by being her”.
A tribute – entitled Elsie Dot by Mum and Dad – was also read out.
‘An amazing little girl’
It recalled how the seven-year-old “brought them nothing but happiness” and that her proudest moment was becoming a big sister.
“Her story does not end here today. Her story will be told every single day by those who loved her,” it said.
In a statement before the service, the family said their daughter lived every day with “determination, persistence, love and kindness”.
“Elsie was an amazing little girl. She had the ability to light up any room that she entered, she was truly unforgettable,” they said.
Image: Members of the emergency services were at the service. Pic: PA
Image: Pic: PA
Image: Pic: PA
The family also released a new image showing her with mum Jenni, dad David – a postman, and three-year-old sister Rosie.
Her family said Elsie loved to dance and was “a devoted Swifie” – but that her big passion was cheerleading.
“Her persistence was admirable, from completing a 3k run and 10k charity walk for her local hospice, as well as moving up books bands in school, everything she did she gave 100% and would never give up,” said the family.
‘Always showed kindness’
Teacher Katie Sykes told Friday’s service Elsie “always showed kindness to everyone around her” and read out memories from her classmates.
A tribute by Farnborough Road School in the days after the attack said Elsie was “adored” by her friends.
Her family said the “overwhelming response” since her death showed the “light, love and joy” their daughter brought to people.
Bubbles fill sky as hundreds gather outside church
By Charlotte Leeming, north of England correspondent
Hundreds lined the streets to say goodbye to a little girl who made such a huge impact on so many during her young life.
In a deeply personal service at the church where she was baptised, Elsie Dot was described as honest, bright, kind and loving.
Elsie adored cheerleading and her friends formed a guard of honour as her small coffin, with a plushie toy on top, was carried into the church along a pink carpet and through an archway of rainbow balloons.
The service heard how Elsie loved pink and dozens of mourners wore the colour as they packed the church to say goodbye.
The streets too were decorated with baby pink bows and ribbons and balloons. And bubbles filled the sky outside as hundreds of people listened to the service on loudspeakers.
It was particularly poignant as the service ended with a rendition of Taylor Swift song Love Story.
Tributes to Elsie described a girl who brought others joy and happiness. Her family said her sparkle would always shine.
This community in Southport have once again shown their determination to support the families of the three little girls who lost their lives.
Elsie’s family also thanked the local community for their support and said they were proud to live in Southport.
He also looked at the sea of tributes outside the town hall and thanked emergency services who responded.
The tragedy sparked anti-immigration protests, riots and counter-protests in town and cities after false information circulated that the attacker was an illegal immigrant.
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Image: Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
More on London Marathon 2025
Related Topics:
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out forming coalitions at a local level with Reform after the council elections next week.
Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the Conservative leader did however categorically rule out a pact with Nigel Farage’s party on a national level.
“I am not going into any coalition with Nigel Farage… read my lips,” she said.
However, she did not deny that deals could be struck with Reform at a local level, arguing that some councils might be under no overall control and in that case, “you have to do what is right for your local area”.
“You look at the moment, we are in coalition with Liberal Democrats, with independents,” she said. “We’ve been in coalition with Labour before at local government level.
“They [councillors] have to look at who the people are that they’re going into coalition with and see how they can deliver for local people.”
She added: “What I don’t want to hear is talks of stitch-ups or people planning things before the results are out. They have to do what is right for their communities.”
More on Electoral Dysfunction
Related Topics:
A total of 23 councils are up for grabs when voters go to the polls on Thursday 1 May – mostly in places that were once deemed Tory shires, until last year’s general election.
It includes 14 county councils, all but two of which have been Conservative-controlled, as well as eight unitary authorities, all but one of which are Tory.
Ms Badenoch has set expectations low for the Tories, suggesting they could lose all the councils they are contesting.
The last time this set of councils were up for election was in 2021, when the Conservative Party was led by Boris Johnson who was riding high from the COVID vaccine bounce.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Image: Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Image: Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.