Latest news with #MsLucas
Metro
21-05-2025
- Metro
Southport stabbings survivor reveals she hasn't used a kitchen knife since
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A yoga instructor who survived the Southport stabbings has revealed she has not used a kitchen knife since the attack. Leanne Lucas said she was left so 'afraid in my own kitchen' by the ordeal of having to fight off Axel Rudakubana that she has not cooked since the summer. As the anniversary of the atrocity approaches, she is calling for a ban on pointed kitchen knives to reduce the risk of them ever being used as a weapon. Rudakubana was jailed for a minimum of 52 years in January for the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at the Taylor Swift-themed workshop in the town on July 29 last year. The teenager also tried to kill eight other children, as well as class instructor Ms Lucas and businessman John Hayes. 'I live with my parents at the age of 36 because that's where I feel safe,' Ms Lucas told The Times. 'I'm hypervigilant and always looking for danger. It crosses my mind every minute of the day. It hadn't happened here in Southport before, so that's why I'm trying to get this message out: you don't know the next place it's going to happen.' In the aftermath of the attack, Ms Lucas said she had read articles quoting actor Idris Elba and celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall discussing the potential benefits of blunt-tipped knives. She said it was the sharp tip of the knife which nearly killed her, telling the BBC: 'When this idea about the blunt-tip knives came in I just thought 'this is a no-brainer, I don't understand why our kitchen isn't safer in the first place'.' Ms Lucas is launching her campaign, Let's Be Blunt, during Knife Crime Awareness Week to encourage the use of rounded knives. 'You normally hear of the zombie knives, machetes, things like that,' she told Sky News. 'They sound dangerous but really, when you look at the figures, the highest figure is the domestic kitchen knife, which we have all got in our kitchen, which we use daily. 'Obviously, people can hurt people in many ways. It's about reducing that opportunity to cause life-damaging, life-threatening injuries that can take people's lives.' There were around 50,000 offences involving a sharp instrument in the year ending March 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). More Trending A sharp instrument was the most common method of homicide in England and Wales during the same period, accounting for 262 deaths. Kitchen knives were used in more than 100 of them. 'We need to all get on board as a member of the general public and say we're not OK with the increase in knife crime, and we want to play a tiny part towards preventing future knife crime, Ms Lucas told the BBC. 'I can't now 'unsee' what's in the kitchen, so I've got to do something about that. And I think that's the movement we're trying to create.'' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Mum tried smuggling MDMA into Creamfields hidden in Kinder Eggs inside her body MORE: Young dad killed in 'targeted attack' in Bury named as Brandon Porter Kershaw MORE: British 'drug mule' complains about food in Sri Lankan prison being too spicy
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Southport dance teacher met Taylor Swift backstage at concert, pictures reveal
The dance teacher who organised the Taylor Swift-themed class in Southport during which three girls were killed has been pictured meeting the pop star backstage. Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, six, were killed in the attack on July 29 last year, and 10 other people were injured, with eight of them children. Leanne Lucas, 36, was stabbed five times in the assault and read out a powerful victim impact statement at the killer's sentencing hearing at Liverpool Crown Court last month. Axel Rudakubana, 18, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 52 years for the murders. It has now emerged that before he was jailed, Ms Lucas met with Swift at one of her Eras tour concerts at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. In a picture posted on social media in December, Ms Lucas, dressed in black, is seen smiling alongside the singer. In court in January, Ms Lucas read her victim's impact statement in person and described how she has lived in constant fear since the attack. She said: 'As a 36-year-old woman I cannot walk down the street without holding my breath as I bypass a person and then glance back to see if they've attempted to stab me. 'The trauma of being both a victim and a witness has been horrendous. There are times when I spiral into trauma.' Speaking of Rudakubana, Ms Lucas said he had targeted her and the children because: 'We are women and girls, vulnerable and easy prey.' Turning to the parents of the victims, she added: 'For Alice, Elsie, Bebe, Heidi and the surviving girls, I'm surviving for you.' In August, shortly after the attack, Swift met two young girls at one of her Wembley performances who had been injured in the attack. Speaking in the immediate aftermath of the killings, Swift said: 'The horror of [the] attack in Southport is washing over me continuously and I'm just completely in shock.' 'These were just little kids at a dance class. I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families,' she added. On the day of the dance class, Ms Lucas and her friend Heidi Liddle had arrived at Hart Space at 9.30am to prepare. When the children arrived a short while later they were dressed in t-shirts and shorts ready for a day of 'fun and excitement' which included singing, dancing and bracelet-making. Rudakubana, who had an obsession with extreme violence, arrived at the building at 11.45am and immediately began attacking the children. As the children ran away Rudakubana chased them out of the building stabbing some in the back as they fled in terror. He also stabbed Ms Lucas and another man, Jonathan Hayes, who tried to intervene in the attack. After Rudakubana pleaded guilty to the attack, it was revealed he had been referred to the Government's Prevent scheme on three occasions but the cases were closed. In an interview with ITV's Good Morning Britain on Monday, Elsie's father, David Stancombe, 36, said: 'No one else should ever go through something like this.' His wife, Jenni Stancombe, 35, said Swift had asked to meet with the families at one of her shows at Wembley. Mrs Stancombe showed the singer pictures of Elsie, which she asked to keep. She added that Elsie would have felt 'all her dreams had come true' if she had known the singer knew her name and had her picture. The couple, who said they 'won't let evil win this', have set up the charity Elsie's Story in their daughter's memory to help other children in need. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
10-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Southport dance teacher met Taylor Swift backstage at concert, pictures reveal
The dance teacher who organised the Taylor Swift-themed class in Southport during which Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, six, were killed in the attack on July 29 last year, and 10 other people were injured, with eight of them children. Leanne Lucas, 36, was stabbed five times in the assault and read out a powerful victim impact statement at the killer's sentencing hearing at Liverpool Crown Court last month. Axel Rudakubana, 18, was sentenced to life in prison with It has now emerged that before he was jailed, Ms Lucas met with Swift at one of her Eras tour concerts at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. In a picture posted on social media in December, Ms Lucas, dressed in black, is seen smiling alongside the singer. In court in January, Ms Lucas read her victim's impact statement in person and described how she has lived in constant fear since the attack. 'There are times when I spiral into trauma' She said: 'As a 36-year-old woman I cannot walk down the street without holding my breath as I bypass a person and then glance back to see if they've attempted to stab me. 'The trauma of being both a victim and a witness has been horrendous. There are times when I spiral into trauma.' Speaking of Rudakubana, Ms Lucas said he had targeted her and the children because: 'We are women and girls, vulnerable and easy prey.' Turning to the parents of the victims, she added: 'For Alice, Elsie, Bebe, Heidi and the surviving girls, I'm surviving for you.' In August, shortly after the attack, Swift met two young girls at one of her Wembley performances who had been injured in the attack. Speaking in the immediate 'These were just little kids at a dance class. I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families,' she added. On the day of the dance class, Ms Lucas and her friend Heidi Liddle had arrived at Hart Space at 9.30am to prepare. When the children arrived a short while later they were dressed in t-shirts and shorts ready for a day of 'fun and excitement' which included singing, dancing and bracelet-making. Rudakubana, who had an obsession with extreme violence, arrived at the building at 11.45am and immediately began attacking the children. As the children ran away Rudakubana chased them out of the building stabbing some in the back as they fled in terror. He also stabbed Ms Lucas and another man, Jonathan Hayes, who tried to intervene in the attack. 'No one should ever go through something like this' After Rudakubana pleaded guilty to the attack, it was revealed he had been referred to the Government's Prevent scheme on three occasions but the cases were closed. In an interview with ITV's Good Morning Britain on Monday, Elsie's father, David Stancombe, 36, said: 'No one else should ever go through something like this.' His wife, Jenni Stancombe, 35, said Swift had asked to meet with the families at one of her shows at Wembley. Mrs Stancombe showed the singer pictures of Elsie, which she asked to keep. She added that Elsie would have felt 'all her dreams had come true' if she had known the singer knew her name and had her picture. The couple, who said they 'won't let evil win this', have set up the charity Elsie's Story in their daughter's memory to help other children in need.
