‘I’ll never forget the screaming’: How the people of Southport are trying to make sense of horror
The pink ribbons on the front gates and signposts of Hart Street in Southport are faded now.
Warning: This article contains content some readers might find distressing.
Placed there in that wave of grief and shock, they are now one of the last visual reminders of what happened on 29 July.
One of the others: many of the doorbell cameras are still missing from their backplates. Cameras that recorded the horror on their doorsteps were taken away to provide the evidence.
The attack that took the lives of Alice Aguiar, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Bebe King and injured others, has left an indelible mark on an unremarkable street in a genteel seaside resort.
(L-R) Victims Elsie Dot Stancombe, Bebe King and Alice Dasilva Aguiar
Axel Rudakubana, 18, from Lancashire, was jailed for life with a minimum of 52 years on Thursday at Liverpool Crown Court for the three murders.
He also admitted 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a kitchen knife on Monday, and further pleaded guilty to charges of producing ricin and possessing an al Qaeda training manual allegedly found in searches of his home in Banks.
Read more:
Mugshot of attacker Axel Rudakubana released
The vivid colours of the summer have given way to the harsh cold of winter on Hart Street. But if the physical reminders of that day are disappearing, the emotional scars are borne by everyone you talk to.
“I’m still in shock,” said Briony. “I don’t think I’ve completely processed it yet. I know a lot of people are definitely still in shock as well because it was in front of them that it happened.”
She was on the phone to her mum when she heard the first screams. Her front window, she said, felt like a giant TV screen, only the images playing out were of real-life horror.
Florist Briony said she ‘heard screams’ on the day of the attack
“I remember the parents turning up. They were abandoning the cars and running down the road screaming,” she said. “I’ll never forget that sound, just absolutely horrendous.”
Hart Street is one of many in Southport that features the idiosyncrasy of small industrial units tucked behind the rows of neat Edwardian houses and accessed by driveways between.
It was in one of the units that the attack took place, its victims spilling into the street as it unfolded.
Steve, who was rebuilding a wall in his front garden, ushered many of them, some badly injured, into his house and the care of his wife. He grabbed a hammer and went to confront the attacker as police arrived.
A survivor of the Hillsborough disaster, he plays down his role on 29 July. Desperate parents came to the house looking for their children, the horror for some was that their child wasn’t there.
“What is there to say? I just think of the families,” he said.
Hart Street in Southport, where the attack took place last July
The heroism of the people of Hart Street gave way to a community response that sustained each other through those first few days and in the months since.
Initially, inside the bubble of the police cordon, they were insulated from the global spotlight that turned on their street.
Today there are people who, politely, refuse to talk about what happened. They have relived it enough. You can read in their eyes the trauma they carry.
But there are others who, if they would rather not talk publicly, do want to talk about it. Maybe it is easier to a stranger. Perhaps it is some catharsis for an experience, they all agree, that has changed everyone.
The pain on Hart Street is palpable.
People recall explaining to their own children why the faces of girls they knew were suddenly on the television, how seeing a certain shade of green brings back memories of the attacker’s distinctive hoodie, how anxiety now accompanies even the most routine of daily chores.
Some wonder whether they could have done something to stop the attack.
Thousands of flowers were left on Hart Street in the aftermath of the attack
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When you walk up garden paths that police swept for DNA evidence, when you use pavements and alleyways that were the scene of the most unimaginable horror – when does anything ever return to normal?
One house became an impromptu post office for the cards of condolence that arrived from around the world. Many were simply addressed “Alice, Bebe and Elsie, c/o Hart Street”.
Briony, who trained as a florist, was one of the residents who took it upon themselves to look after the mountain of flowers that also arrived at Hart Street, to keep them as fresh for as long as possible in the summer heatwave.
“I went out there with my headphones on so I could concentrate on it. It felt like it was important to show everybody how loved those three girls were and how the community cares so much about what’s happened.”
Some of the tributes live on, replanted in flower beds on Hart Street, Briony is drying some to turn into a work of art.
Briony is drying flowers left on Hart Street to turn into a work of art
The pain of the memories of the events of 29 July is matched only by the anger many feel at the scenes of unrest that followed.
“Disgusting. I thought it was disgusting,” said Briony. “It was just a sign of pure hatred and nothing else.”
Shifting the focus away from the families of the victims, for many, is unforgivable. Even in recent weeks, friends and relatives of the children caught up in the attack have continued to return to Hart Street.
They come to thank those who helped save lives that day. They talk. Sometimes they just hug.
“I can’t imagine what they’re going through. I just hope they can find some sort of peace at some point,” said Briony.
For the parents of Alice, the grieving process includes a monthly mass for her at their local Catholic church.
Father John Henegan gave victim Alice her first Holy communion and also held her funeral
Father John Henegan gave Alice her first Holy Communion last summer.
“She was just radiant, just this constant beaming smile, it was absolutely natural,” he said.
Weeks later, Father John was holding Alice’s funeral. How does he believe any family can reckon with the violence that took her life?
“Our response is goodness. Our response is hope,” he said, adding: “Love instead of hate. Hatred creates chaos and distress. Love is the way. Hope is the opposite to despair. We can change things. We can help to build a better world.”
On Hart Street, those pink ribbons continue to fade, but the memories of Alice, Bebe and Elsie never will.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
It has become almost impossible to book a driving test on the government website due to bots on the booking system, driving instructors have told Sky News.
The only official way to book a practical car driving test is through the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) website.
New test slots are released by the DVSA at 6am every Monday, but “no matter how fast I am, there’s nothing available”, said Aman Sanghera, a driving instructor based in west London.
Driving instructor Aman Sanghera wants ‘stronger oversight and regulation’ from the DVSA
When asked about the cause, she said: “All of the tests are taken by bots, they are definitely taking over the booking system.”
In this context, bots are automated software designed to mimic human behaviour and programmed to carry out actions like searching for and reserving driving test appointments on the official government website much faster than humans can.
Individuals and companies use bots to block-book driving test slots and then resell them at a profit, which is not illegal, although it is a violation of the DVSA’s terms of use.
Recent data shows the DVSA has closed over 800 business accounts for misuse of its booking service in the past two years.
It takes five months on average for a test in England – unless you pay a middleman
Ms Sanghera, who has been in the trade for over a decade, said the usage of bots started a few months ago “but is now getting out of hand”.
She said: “I’ve actually heard about driving instructors being approached by certain individuals to then take on their IDs to log in and to run this scam.
“I struggle to actually book a test for my students, which means that by the time my students are logging in, they’ve got no chance.”
Driving instructors can book driving tests on behalf of their pupils using a dedicated service, allowing them to bypass the general queue and potentially secure test slots more efficiently.
As a result, Ms Sanghera said students are “forced to go to third-party sites” to secure “the same test dates which are then available later on during the day at a premium rate of like £200-£300”.
She added: “Given that the DVSA is a government-regulated body, one would expect a more robust and fair system to ensure affordability and accessibility for all candidates.”
The long waiting lists and high demand for tests has led some to take advantage
The standard test fee is £62, offered by the DVSA, which is responsible for carrying out driving tests in Great Britain.
The biggest concern for the driving instructors Sky News has spoken to, including Ms Sanghera, is “the fact that students are being exploited”.
When Ahmed Ali struggled to find a practical test on the DVSA website, he turned to third-party sites – a decision he now regrets.
Ahmed Ali started looking for a test two years ago
He said: “I’ve spent about £650 on driving tests, and I’ve sat zero tests. I’ve given all this money to third-parties that look for cancellations so they could try to get you a faster test.”
But the 20-year-old said that despite making the payments, he “didn’t hear back from them again”, which is illegal.
“When you lose all that money, you get to a point where you can’t really afford to find another driving test,” he said.
“I just feel very frustrated because I’ve spent all this money, all this time into driving, and I haven’t sat a single driving test.”
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The DVSA urged applicants to only book tests via the official Gov.uk website and told Sky News it “deploys enhanced bot protection to help stop automated systems from buying up tests unfairly”.
“These applications, however, are constantly evolving and changing, and DVSA’s work on this is ongoing,” it said.
From Tuesday, the DVSA will require learner drivers to provide 10 full working days’ notice to change or cancel their car driving test without losing the test fee, up from the current three days.
Also part of the DVSA’s crackdown to reduce waiting times is a consultation expected to launch in spring 2025 “to streamline the driving test booking process” and “tighten terms and conditions”.
The last blast furnaces left operating in Britain could see their fate sealed within days, after their Chinese owners took the decision to cut off the crucial supply of ingredients keeping them running.
Jingye, the owner of British Steel in Scunthorpe, has, according to union representatives, cancelled future orders for the iron ore, coal and other raw materials needed to keep the furnaces running.
The upshot is that they may have to close next month – even sooner than the earliest date suggested for its closure.
Read more: Thousands of jobs at risk as British Steel consults unions over closure
The fate of the blast furnaces – the last two domestic sources of virgin steel, made from iron ore rather than recycled – is likely to be determined in a matter of days, with the Department for Business and Trade now actively pondering nationalisation.
The upshot is that even as Britain contends with a trade war across the Atlantic, it is now working against the clock to secure the future of steelmaking at Scunthorpe.
The talks between the government and Jingye broke down last week after the Chinese company, which bought British Steel out of receivership in 2020, rejected a £500m offer of public money to replace the existing furnaces with electric arc furnaces.
The sum is the same one it offered to Tata Steel, which has shut down the other remaining UK blast furnaces in Port Talbot and is planning to build electric furnaces – which have far lower carbon emissions.
These steel workers could soon be out of work
However, the owners argue that the amount is too little to justify extra investment at Scunthorpe, and said last week they were now consulting on the date of shutting both the blast furnaces and the attached steelworks.
Since British Steel is the main provider of steel rails to Network Rail – as well as other construction steels available from only a few sites in the world – the closure would leave the UK more reliant on imports for critical infrastructure sites.
However, since the site belongs to its Chinese owners, a decision to nationalise the site would involve radical steps government officials are wary of taking.
They also fear leaving taxpayers exposed to a potentially loss-making business for the long run.
The dilemma has been heightened by the sharp turn in geopolitical sentiment following Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
The incipient trade war and threatened cut in American support to Europe have sparked fresh calls for countries to act urgently to secure their own supplies of critical materials, especially those used for defence and infrastructure.
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Gareth Stace, head of UK Steel, the industry lobby group, said: “Talks seem to have broken down between government and British Steel.
“My advice to government is: please, Jonathan Reynolds, Business Secretary, get back round that negotiating table, thrash out a deal, and if a deal can’t be found in the next few days, then I fear for the very future of the sector, but also here for Scunthorpe steelworks.”
British Steel declined to comment.
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