Help Child F and family from 29th July Southport attacks

Hello,

I am honoured to know this family that I met. When speaking with Child F it was such an inspiration and I would like your help to raise funds for such a brave and courageous individual and her family so they can cover costs of additional counselling and allow them to make new, better memories to push this horrible event to the back of their thoughts.

Here is the statement she read out publicly in court. I think you can agree this must have taken a huge amount of courage for anyone let alone a 14year old;

My sister and I have always been part of dance clubs and thankfully we can still go.

"On that day my sister wanted to go to take part, and I agreed to go to help Heidi and Leanne taking pictures of the girls having a brilliant time. We were dropped off by our dad and I remember it being sunny and warm. That day turned into a living nightmare.

"The dance club was full of laughter and excitement all morning with the girls full of life.

"The beginning of my nightmare started when I saw you. I thought you were playing a joke. I saw you in your green hoody and face mask. The thing I remember most about you is your eyes. You looked possessed and you didn't look human.

"I watched you stab someone and then I saw you coming for me. It was like slow motion. You stabbed me in the arm and instinctively I turned and that's when you continued to stab me in the back although I didn't feel it at the time. All I could heard was the screams.

"I was so scared of what you were doing and I was in a blind panic. I ran out onto the landing and there was a group of girls huddled and I began just screaming for the girls to get down the stairs.

"I remember I was physically pushing them down the stairs to get them out of the building and get them away from you. I knew I was running for my life. I needed to try to get everyone out to safety, that was my first thought.

"When we were in the car park, I remember thinking we need to get away as you weren't going to stop, I knew from your eyes you wanted to try to kill us all.

"The fear I had not knowing where my sister was and screaming her name, I couldn't see her. I didn't know if she had got out. I will never forget that blind panic.

"Once I was safe and I knew my sister was safe I asked, 'Am I going to die?'

"You stabbed my arm so severely that my arm looked like it was inside out. You stabbed me in the back so hard that you fractured my spine. My lung collapsed.

"I stayed in hospital for a week but even when I got home the road to recovery was so long. I couldn't go out with friends like I would have done with it being the summer holidays. I couldn't dance for months, I was simply too exhausted.

"When we came home I needed my mum, she slept beside me and my sister. I was just so scared and constantly reliving what you did. My sister would get our parents to check all the windows and doors before bed to make sure we were safe. You caused that fear in us.

"As a person I feel different, this life-changing event has happened to us and I'm living with the consequences of it every day.

"My first day back at school was awful, people wouldn't speak to me, they felt awkward. They didn't know what to say. I felt lonely with no one my age to talk to about it.

"I have to have a special chair in school, because the usual chairs dig into my scars. I have time out of lessons because my mind wanders back to that day and l can't focus. I have too much on my mind and that's not right for a 14-year-old.

"I know that my parents worry even more about us now because they see how we react to everyday things. When we are in the car my sister will ask 'are the doors locked? Can anyone get in?' Our parents have to see their daughters waking in the night having nightmares and not wanting to be alone in a room at home.

"If my sister is doing something that reminds her of Alice she gets so upset, she misses her so much. It's put a strain on us as a family unit. My parents are stressed and worried for our future.

"Things about the incident pop up on social media all the time - I feel like I can't get away from it. Even when I'm at home and I'm safe, it means that I feel like I'm mentally still there and experiencing it.

"Physically I've healed but my scars remain as a reminder of what you did to me, to us all. My sister and I are lucky we got to come home. Your actions mean that Alice, Bebe and Elsie didn't.

"No sane person could do that, it's sickening what you did, going in there knowing you're going into a room full of defenceless children. Give me a reason for what you did. Arming yourself with a weapon and stabbing children. I hope you spend the rest of your life knowing that we think you're a coward.

"Today I was in school, I found out through the teachers that you pled guilty, and I was shown it on the news. I didn't know what to say. I was so angry; l am still so angry. I feel like this whole time, we have had a build-up of stress and anxiety preparing for the trial and then you just changed your mind.

"Some of us are physically getting better, but we will all have to live with the mental pain from that day forever. I want you to know that you changed mine and my sister's lives forever but whilst you live behind bars alone, I will make sure that my sister and I, and our family will do our best to move forward with our lives."

I have seen the generosity of everyone and let’s see if we can assist this family to move forward and allow the children to reclaim there child hood with better memories.