Southport teacher 'haunted by kids' screams' and had 'parts of spine sliced off'

Two dance teachers caught in the Southport attack have said they are still "haunted by the screams" of the little girls they desperately fought to save. Leanne Lucas, who organised the Taylor Swift dance class, wept as she told how she initially thought Axel Rudakubana was there to collect one of the youngsters, until he started stabbing her.

The 36-year-old said she was stabbed so hard the teenager fractured her shoulder blade and cut off parts of her spine. Her injuries were so bad she didn't even know three girls had died until days after the attack in July last year. But despite suffering five stab wounds to her head, chest, back and arms, Leanne summoned the strength to call 999 and shouted to the children to "run away".

Choking back sobs, she said: "He came in. I thought he must be here to collect someone. At that moment, I did not know what he was doing. I shouted to him and to the girls for someone to indicate they knew him. That is when he came over to me. He began what I thought was punching me in the back. It was after the second blow when I knew 'he's got me'.

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"It wasn’t until I saw blood, I had realised he was stabbing me. He was so strong and so determined. By this point he had stabbed me five times. I knew I had to get help and get help quickly. I dialled 999 in the building. The corridor was bedlam, absolute chaos. The children were everywhere."

Leanne told how she and fellow dance teacher Heidi Liddle began rushing the children away, down a stairwell and towards an exit. She said: "My thoughts were racing: 'Nobody knows where we are. Nobody is coming. How much time do I have left? How many can I save before I die?'. Once outside, in the car park, I realised this is not over. I told the girls to run, 'run away', praying they would escape. Not knowing where each child was in those moments is a fear that will live with me forever."

Heidi said she 'couldn't process what was happening' as she watched Rudakubana start repeatedly stabbing Leanne. Both teachers gave their harrowing accounts at an inquiry into the atrocity today. Heidi recalled hearing the knifeman banging on the door after she locked herself in a toilet with one of the children.

She said: "Suddenly I saw my friend and colleague being brutally attacked. I couldn’t process what was happening. Everything happened so quickly – it was just a matter of seconds. At that moment, there was no time to think but to just run and usher as many children away from danger as possible.

"The children were running towards the stairwell, when I noticed one of the girls run in the opposite direction towards the toilet. I saw a flash of green and I pushed her inside and locked the door, reassuring her and telling her to be quiet. Whilst in the toilet, the perpetrator was banging and rattling the door attempting to get in – only stopping when the police arrived. The girls’ screaming and fearing for our lives haunts me to this day."

The mum-of-two told how she has been left terrified of the dark, afraid to turn out the lights in her own home. She added: "When I found out I was expecting my second child, I felt a fear of judgement. I felt guilt at bringing a life into the world, when others had lost their children. I didn’t feel that I deserved happiness."

Both teachers said they think of all the children affected by the attack everyday, and always hold the families of the three slain little girls in their hearts. Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, were all killed in the attack. Ten others, including eight children, were seriously injured. Rudakubana, now 19, is serving a life sentence for his crimes and must servce a minimum of 52 years.