Two security guard fathers are offering free protection for children’s clubs as fears sweep across the country in the wake of the Southport knife attack.
Parents have been left worried over sending children to summer classes after the horrifying attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Monday saw three young girls killed.
Eight children were also injured as well as two adults, with a 17-year-old – now named as Axel Rudakubana – charged with three counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder.
After watching the tragic events unfold on the news, fathers Ben Moss and Tom Doolan decided to step in and offer free security services for children’s clubs.
The pair, who run Napier Security Services in Huyton, Merseyside, have been inundated with security requests for children’s events since the attack, they told the BBC.
Security guard fathers Ben Moss and Tom Doolan are offering free protection for children’s clubs in the wake of the Southport knife attack
Members of Merseyside fire service laying flowers near the scene of the Southport attack where three children were killed and eight injured
They say they have already sent security staff to 16 different venues this week.
In the aftermath of the attack, anxious parents across the UK have considered cancelling their children’s classes, while organisers have said they are unsure about running them.
Mr Moss came up with the idea to offer up free protection after he learnt of the attack when watching TV as he was making his daughter breakfast.
The father-of-one said his daughter was planning to attend some classes and he’d become concerned to hear some organisers were re-thinking summer clubs in the wake of the incident.
He told the BBC: ‘I know my daughter is going to some clubs and stuff like that over the summer and I thought it would give them more peace of mind if they knew somebody was there.’
He said himself and father-of-three Mr Doolan were touched to see how many security staff across the country reached out to them to offer their services for free.
Posting on Facebook, Napier security services wrote: ‘After the horrendous events in Southport if any local summer holiday clubs are thinking of not opening due to security risks we will happily put staff on there for free where we can, kids should be enjoying their summer.’
Pictured for the first time: Southport stabbing suspect Axel Rudakubana, now 17, pictured as a child, is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others
Court artist drawing of Rudakubana covering his face as he appeared in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court
Bebe King, aged six, was killed in the attack
Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven, was also fatally wounded in the attack which shocked the nation on Monday
Alice Dasilva Aguiar, aged nine, was one of three children killed by a knifeman at a Taylor-Swift themed dance class in Southport
It comes as teenager Rudakubana appeared in court today charged with murdering three little girls Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, in the attack on Monday.
A court heard that the 17-year-old – who turns 18 in just six days time – carried out the rampage with a ‘curved kitchen knife’.
He is said to have been born to Rwandan parents in Cardiff before moving to the village of Banks in Lancashire.
Rudakubana is also accused of the attempted murders of eight more children, along with dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes.
The suspect was remanded into youth detention accommodation and will appear at Liverpool Crown Court later today.
Up until now, the teenager’s identity could not be revealed because suspects under 18 receive automatic anonymity in all UK court cases, except for in exceptional circumstances.
But after a successful application to the judge by the Mail, Rudakubana’s name can now be reported.
The hearing at Liverpool City Magistrates’ Court by District Judge James Hatton lasted just five minutes, where prosecutor Deanna Heer said he used a ‘kitchen knife with a curved blade’ during the rampage.
During that time the defendant, who is also charged with possessing an offensive weapon, wore a baggy grey tracksuit and black slippers and pulled his sweatshirt of his face above his nose, keeping his head low.
At one point in the hearing, the teenager, who did not speak once, looked back at the group of around 20 reporters that were sat behind the dock.
The Southport attack led to days of violent riots in the town, which also spread to Hartlepool, Aldershot and central London last night.
More than 100 people were arrested in London last night following a far-right protest which saw around 1,000 right-wing activists descend upon Whitehall.
Violence erupted on the streets of London as flag-waving protesters clash with police
A furious protester lifts up the mask of a riot policeman’s helmet amid growing tensions
Protesters hold a Union Jack banner which says: ‘Enough is enough. Stop the boats.’ They were also wearing t-shirts with the faces of the three girls who died in Southport
SOUTHPORT: Riot police hold back protesters near a burning police vehicle after disorder broke out on Tuesday night
SOUTHPORT: A police van was set on fire near a mosque in Southport on Tuesday evening as riots broke out
Southport locals have called on rioters to leave their town after Tuesday night’s violence
Police were forced to put on riot gear after chanting activists threw cans and launched flares outside Downing Street.
Loud chants of ‘Oh Tommy Robinson’, ‘we want our country back’ and ‘stop the boats’ were also heard as protesters surrounded The Cenotaph, despite police vans trying to protect the war memorial on Whitehall.
False speculation online that the suspect is an asylum seeker who had travelled to the UK on a boat appeared to fuel the shocking riots outside a mosque in Southport on Tuesday night.
Southport locals – including Elsie’s mother – have called for the violence to stop after police vans were torched and bricks were hurled in violence that left 53 officers injured.
