‘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.
UK
Teenager living in ‘continuous pain’ after surgeon Dr Yaser Jabbar carried out ‘inappropriate’ operations
A 15-year-old boy who was operated on twice by a now unlicensed Great Ormond Street surgeon is living with “continuous” pain.
Finias Sandu has been told by an independent review the procedures he underwent on both his legs were “unacceptable” and “inappropriate” for his age.
The teenager from Essex was born with a condition that causes curved bones in his legs.
Aged seven, a reconstructive procedure was carried out on Finias’s left leg, lengthening the limb by 3.5cm.
A few years later, the same operation was carried out on his right leg which involved wearing an invasive and heavy metal frame for months.
He has now been told by independent experts these procedures should not have taken place and concerns have been raised over a lack of imaging being taken prior to the operations.
Yaser Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence last year. Pic: LinkedIn
His doctor at London’s prestigious Great Ormond Street Hospital was former consultant orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar. Sky News has spoken to others he treated.
Mr Jabbar also did not arrange for updated scans or for relevant X-rays to be conducted ahead of the procedures.
The surgeries have been found to have caused Finias “harm” and left him in constant pain.
“The pain is there every day, every day I’m continuously in pain,” he told Sky News.
“It’s not something really sharp, although it does get to a certain point where it hurts quite a lot, but it’s always there. It just doesn’t leave, it’s a companion to me, just always there.”
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Finias’s surgery pictures
Care of over 700 patients being assessed
Mr Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence in January last year after working at Great Ormond Street between 2017 and 2022.
The care of his 700-plus patients is being assessed, with some facing corrective surgery, among them Finias.
“Trusting somebody is hard to do, knowing what they have done to me physically and emotionally, you know, it’s just too much to comprehend for me,” he said.
“It wasn’t something just physically, like my leg pain and everything else. It was emotionally, because I put my trust in that specific doctor. My parents and I don’t really understand the more scientific terms, we just went by what he said.”
Doctors refused to treat Finias because of his surgeries
Finias and his family relocated to their native Romania soon after the reconstructive frame was removed from his right leg in the summer of 2021.
The pain worsened and they sought advice from doctors in Romania, who refused to treat Finias because of the impact of his surgeries.
Dozens of families seeking legal claims
His mother Cornelia Sandu is “furious” and feels her trust in the hospital has been shattered. They are now among dozens of families seeking legal claims.
Cyrus Plaza from Hudgell Solicitors is representing the family. He said: “In cases where it has been identified that harm was caused, we want to see Great Ormond Street Hospital agreeing to pay interim payments of compensation for the children, so that if they need therapy or treatment now, they can access it.”
Finias is accessing therapy and mental health support as he prepares for corrective surgery later in the year.
A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital told Sky News: “We are deeply sorry to Finias and his family, and all the patients and families who have been impacted.
“We want every patient and family who comes to our hospital to feel safe and cared for. We will always discuss concerns families may have and, where they submit claims, we will work to ensure the legal process can be resolved as quickly as possible.”
Finias with his mother and sister
Service not ‘safe for patients’
Sky News has attempted to contact Mr Jabbar.
An external review into the wider orthopaedic department at the hospital began in September 2022.
It was commissioned after the Royal College of Surgeons warned the hospital’s lower limb reconstruction service was not “safe for patients or adequate to meet demand”.
The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Sir Keir Starmer has said closer ties with the EU will be good for the UK’s jobs, bills and borders ahead of a summit where he could announce a deal with the bloc.
The government is set to host EU leaders in London on Monday as part of its efforts to “reset” relations post-Brexit.
A deal granting the UK access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table, according to reports – but disagreements over a youth mobility scheme and fishing rights could prove to be a stumbling block.
The prime minister has appeared to signal a youth mobility deal could be possible, telling The Times that while freedom of movement is a “red line”, youth mobility does not come under this.
His comment comes after Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said on Friday work on a defence deal was progressing but “we’re not there yet”.
Sir Keir met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later that day while at a summit in Albania.
Ursula von der Leyen and Sir Keir had a brief meeting earlier this week. Pic: PA
If agreed, the deal will be the third in two weeks, following trade agreements with India and the US.
Sir Keir said: “First India, then the United States – in the last two weeks alone that’s jobs saved, faster growth and wages rising.
“More money in the pockets of British working people, achieved through striking deals not striking poses.
“Tomorrow, we take another step forward, with yet more benefits for the United Kingdom as the result of a strengthened partnership with the European Union.”
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “worried” about what the PM might have negotiated.
Ms Badenoch – who has promised to rip up the deal with the EU if it breaches her red lines on Brexit – said: “Labour should have used this review of our EU trade deal to secure new wins for Britain, such as an EU-wide agreement on Brits using e-gates on the continent.
“Instead, it sounds like we’re giving away our fishing quotas, becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again and getting free movement by the back door. This isn’t a reset, it’s a surrender.”
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