'I've been stabbed, I think I'm dying': Hero recounts moment he saved girls after Southport stabbing

ITV Granada Reports correspondent Elaine Willcox spoke to Steve about what he saw

A hero granddad who bravely went to help those injured in the Southport stabbing has told of how one girl ran to him covered in blood saying she thought she was going to die.

Steve, 66, sheltered a dozen children in his home after they ran screaming from a Taylor Swift workshop at a dance school aimed at children aged between seven and 11-years-old.

He said he was first alerted something was not right, on 29 July, when heard screaming that “was not stopping”.

He then spotted the group running towards him, as he was in his front driveway rebuilding a wall outside his home on Hart Street, in Southport.

“I saw them start running down the road,” he said. “And the girl who was leading them all running, saw me and she just ran straight into my path and she put her arms around me and she said ‘I've been stabbed, I think I’m dying’.

"I couldn't believe what she was saying, she was bleeding on me, and then she said ‘I think I'm dying’. I said ‘you're not dying, you're not going to die’. 

“I said ‘right everybody get in here'.

"When she got in the house, my wife’s got hold of her, but she just collapsed onto the floor."

Steve says she believes the girl, who he describes as a hero, has since been discharged from hospital.

He added: “She’s an absolute hero. She was running down the road. And the second she seen me stood in the front.

"Luckily there's no cars coming and she just ran straight to me and all the other little kids followed. She's a brave girl, a very brave girl.

“The noise, just screaming for the kids, was horrendous. You could see they were in absolute terror."

Nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar, Bebe King, six, and seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe died of their injuries following the attack.

Eight other children suffered knife wounds – with five of them in a critical condition – while two adults - yoga instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes - were also critically hurt.

Two of those injured children injured have now been discharged from hospital, with five others in a stable condition.

Steve, a Hillsborough survivor, says the family frantically went around locking their house while the terrified children were scrambling to get upstairs.

“My wife was saying ‘you're safe you're safe, it’s all locked up, nobody can get in here now’," he said.

“The girl who ran down the road with all them kid she really deserves a special mention, because if they just stayed there, you just don't know what would have happened.

"It could have been even worse, their screams were terrible, absolutely terrible.”

The brave granddad said after he made sure his wife and the children were locked in the home he joined two other men, Colin and Joel, as they went to see what was going on.

As police and the men ran upstairs, Steve stood outside the door with a hammer to ensure the knifeman could not get away if he tried to flee.

He then helped evacuate more injured children, before coaxing another instructor out of the toilet where she had locked herself with other to protect them.

"The teacher in the toilet didn’t even want to open the door," he said "Even though they were saying ‘police, police police, you’re safe now’, she didn’t even want to open the door."

As the afternoon continued Steve saw an instructor again, sitting outside his home.

"I saw the dance teacher sat outside our house, she was just ashen, she couldn't speak, she couldn't even drink her water, she was in shock.

"She had been hurt, but one of the first aiders said ‘I’m prioritising you’.

"She jumped in the way of the knife, she covered two of the kids up to stop them getting stabbed while she was being stabbed. She’s a brave, brave woman.

"A very brave woman, they all were, even the kids. If you're that age you run to someone, to run away, that girl who led them away, she needs a pat on the head.

"She probably doesn't even know what she's done but she led them down the street and over into ours."

Steve said many of the children he saw were "tiny", and will now need "really looking after".

“The last one who came running looked about three foot high, like a toddler, holding her arm with blood coming out," he said.

“You can't describe it, you know unless you've actually seen it. I cant believe it, look at the size of her.

"I’m alright, I’ve been through it in Hillsborough but actually my mechanisms are built in, I am affected but it's not about me it’s about these kids, because I know what's going to happen with them now when they start reliving it and the nightmares start.

"They need looking after, they need counselling. I know that from experience."

Steve refuses to be called a hero however, saying it was "the least I could do".

"It’s not a case of getting them to safety," he added" "It’s like if you see a kid getting run over you’re not going to go in the house, you're going to go and see if you can do something for them.

"They ran to me, all I could do is ‘right get in here’, when a kid is saying to you ‘I’ve been stabbed I think I’m dying’ you’re thinking ‘what?’

"Then you see all the others coming running in, you think what's happened to them, and four of them bleeding, it’s unbelievable.

“It’s not about me, or my wife it’s about the kids, I was just glad my wife was there and I was glad I was stood on the front and they saw me and come running over."

Steve has since been thanked by many of the parents of those he helped, with his wife given flowers also.

Axel Rudakubana, 17, from Banks in Lancashire, has been charged with three murders and 10 attempted murders.

The teenager could previously not be named because of his age, but restrictions were lifted early after a crown court judge said it would “remove the mystique” around the defendant’s identity online.

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