Southport: Community rallies together after 'violent thugs' riot outside mosque
People in Southport are rallying together after "violent thugs" marred a night of remembrance for three murdered children.
Dozens of residents are outside Southport mosque with brushes and shovels after violence by what's believed to be far-right activists broke out overnight.
More than 50 police officers were injured after stones and bottles were thrown, with cars set alight and destroyed.
David Burgess is among those residents trying to clean up and rebuild walls destroyed during the protest.
"This road looked like a war zone," he said. "They're not part of the Southport community.
"Our community is full of love and I hope this doesn't take away from the tragedy we have faced. To see this happen in the local community, we're absolutely appalled by it."
David Burgess is among the local residents who have rallied together to clean up the mess left by far-right protesters.
"As a resident, we're furious," said Chloe Quinn, who has joined in on the clean up. "How dare they come into our town and use it as a platform for violence."
Norman Wallis, chief executive of Southport Pleasureland, said people had travelled from out of town to wreak havoc, leaving locals to clean up the mess.
Shop owner Chanaka Balasuryla said the Southport community has rallied around him since his store was looted during the disorder on Tuesday night.
Mr Balasuryla said he called 999 after spotting men trying to smash their way in on the CCTV camera from his home five minutes away.
He said he was “terrified” when he thought they would set fire to the premises because there is a woman and her daughter living in a flat above.
He said he later found out that the woman confronted the raiders, telling them it was her shop in an attempt to stop them.
“I got a couple of hours’ sleep and then got a phone call saying ‘You need to come down, there’s lots of people waiting to help’,” Mr Balasuryla said.
He added that local people had said they would defend his shop if necessary. “It was terrifying last night,” he said.
“But I feel safe again because people are here to protect us.”
Rioters tried to smash their way into Mr Balasuryla's shop.
Rose Tucker, a fellow business owner, has now now started a GoFundMe page to help cover Mr Balasuryla's repair costs.
Ms Tucker hopes the fundraiser, which has raised more than £3,000 of its £10,000 target, will provide a sense of "reassurance" for the family adding:
"We love having this diverse community and we're going to keep it that way. We do not condone any of (the riots), I think it's barbaric.
"(Raising money) just seems like the right thing to do. They've had an absolutely horrific experience, so I want to help them as much as I can."
Chloe Quinn is a local resident in Southport who says the protesters ruined a day of peaceful vigils for three children killed.
Police officers suffered serious injuries when bricks, stones and bottles were thrown and cars were set alight during the violence following a vigil for the three girls killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club.
Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were all fatally stabbed in Southport on Monday.
A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons because of his age, remains in custody accused of murder and attempted murder.
Merseyside Police said “a large group of people – believed to be supporters of the English Defence League” – began to throw items such as bricks towards the mosque in the seaside town at about 7:45pm.
Officers put on helmets and riot gear after stones and bottles were launched at them and police vehicles were damaged and set on fire.
In a post on social media, the force said shops had been “broken into and looted”, adding that “those responsible will be brought to justice”.
Elsie’s mother, Jenni Stancombe, wrote on Facebook: “This is the only thing that I will write, but please please stop the violence in Southport tonight.
“The police have been nothing but heroic these last 24 hours and they and we don’t need this.”
Merseyside Police said 50 officers were injured, eight seriously including fractures, lacerations, a suspected broken nose and concussion.
Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said the officers injured in Tuesday’s protests will “now be unavailable for duty in what is an incredibly busy time for the force”.
Videos posted on social media showed people throwing wheelie bins and bricks at officers who held riot shields to push the crowds back.
The chairman of Merseyside Police Federation, Chris McGlade, said: “Police officers are not robots.
"We are mothers and fathers. Sons and daughters. Husbands, wives and partners. We should be going home at the end of our shifts. Not to hospital.”
Southport MP Patrick Hurley, speaking on Wednesday, said rioters must face the “full force of the law”, saying they were “utterly disrespecting the families of the dead and injured children”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said rioters had “hijacked” a vigil for victims and will “feel the full force of the law”, while Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the rioting as “violent attacks from thugs on the streets”, which she branded “appalling”.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime minister Angela Rayner condemned the riots and urged for everyone "to step back and just wait and then that information will come but allow the police to do their work”.
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