How Southport is trying to heal, one year on

A year ago, Southport's world changed forever.

Three young girls - Bebe King, Alice Aguiar and Elsie Dot Stancombe - died in a horrific attack which shocked the nation and left the seaside resort reeling.

In the aftermath, the town has wrapped its arms around the families of the girls and the other children and adults injured, while also trying to not let the attack define it.

The path back to something like normality has been a long and hard one.

In the Old Bakehouse Coffee Shop in the town centre, chatter hums above the clatter of cups and cutlery.

"We have to accept what's happened and that's the next part of the healing, and that's hard," says owner Maz Langshaw.

Southport is a small town, but it is an even smaller community. Everyone seems to know someone who was affected by the events that day.

The coffee shop, which opened recently, sits between Lord Street, Southport's famous Victorian main street, and Hart Street, the scene of last July's attack.

Helen Maxwell sips of coffee, tears filling her eyes.

"I know some of the girls who were affected. They have been beacons of light. It's just amazing. Everyone's wrapped around them like a big blanket," she says.

A short distance away from Old Bakehouse is Silcocks - a family run amusement park which has been owned by the same family for generations.

Their name is on numerous shop fronts.

"We're a small town with a huge heart," says operations director Serena Silcock-Prince.

"Everyone's seen that now. We really support each other. There's nowhere like Southport.

"You absolutely cannot break a community like this."

Last month, the government announced funding to repair Southport Pier. It followed a commitment to the bereaved parents to build a community space outside the town hall.

"The families came back from Downing Street and said look we've come back with £10m as our thank you to the town," Andrew Brown from Stand Up for Southport says.

"The town should be saying thank you to them. They're remarkable people."

Their daughters – Alice Aguiar, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Bebe King – loved to dance. They adored Taylor Swift. That is why they attended the summer holiday event on Hart Street last year.

"We want the kids to dance – we want people to laugh – we definitely want the investment.

"We just want it to be a happy, safe welcoming place like it was before," says Maz.

A Public Inquiry into the attacks is due to resume in September.

And, although the conversation will move on, what happened in Southport on 29 July 2024 will never be forgotten.