Moments of humanity in aftermath of UK riots

The mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport last week has left the nation reeling in shock.

Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were fatally stabbed last Monday when a knifeman entered the dance class on Hart Street in Southport, Merseyside.

Eight other children suffered knife wounds – with five of them in a critical condition – while two adults were also critically hurt.

Axel Rudakubana, 17, has been charged with the murder of the three girls, the attempted murder of two adults, yoga class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes, as well as the attempted murder of the eight children who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Since the attack, there has been a riot in Southport after groups linked to the far-right descended on the town. The violence continued over the following days and into the weekend, with outbreaks of riots in areas including Hartlepool, Manchester, Belfast, Aldershot, Middlesbrough and Rotherham.

However, amongst the darkness of the tragedy, there have been moments of humanity, showing the best of people as they rally around the families, the town and everyone affected by last week's heartbreaking events.

Locals defend mosque from rioters

Anti-racism activists and members of Middlesbrough's Muslim community stood together to defend a mosque from a mob of rioters on Sunday.

Podcast host Andy Preston was at the scene by the Waterloo Road Mosque. "Everyone I spoke to is very sad about what is happening but levelheaded and not angry," he said.

A crowd of around 200 people were reported to have stood guard by the site. In a video shared by Muslim news website 5 Pillars, a community leader stood outside the mosque urges people to show restraint while protecting the place of worship.

"They're doing all the wrong things, we don't want to be a part of that. You've come here to do your duty and I'll give you plenty and plenty of blessings for it - to protect your community.

"Let's show the world what Muslims are really like, not the ones they want to depict you as. So be on your best behaviour. You're here to do your duty and protect our community and our masjid – that's it, nothing beyond that... Control yourselves and your emotions, fellas."

Video footage from Sky News showed a group of counter-protesters chasing a rioter away across a field. One worshipper told the channel: "We have organisations who have been demonstrating against racism, Islamophobia, fascism, and that's exactly what we're doing."

Shop saved from destruction

Shop owner Chanaka Balasuryla said the Southport community had rallied around him since his store was looted during the disorder on Tuesday night.

He said he was “terrified” when he thought rioters 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.

Balasuryla added that local people had said they would defend his shop if necessary and that he feels “safe again because people are here to protect us”.

Clean-up after riots

Following violent unrest in Southport after Tuesday’s vigil, locals gathered together for a huge clean-up operation.

Dozens of residents were outside Southport mosque with brushes and shovels on Wednesday morning, after violence that saw the mosque targeted, as well as bricks, stones and bottles thrown at police and cars set alight.

A group from Kingswood Homes and Southport Mosque spent hours working together to rebuild a wall damaged outside the mask by the rioters.

Children were also seen with brooms in hand, sweeping up the mess that had been left behind as a result of the riots.

Community members pitched in with council workers to clean up the mess left behind by rioters who surrounded a Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

A mob of around 700 people smashed windows at the site, threw objects at police and tried to set the building alight.

Police officers stood guard outside the main entrance and at other locations around the building as teams swept up glass from the numerous broken windows at the front of the hotel.

The fire door where rioters appeared to have got into the four-storey building was boarded up but with the melted remains of a bin still in place in front.

Further damage was visible around the rear of the property where fences were ripped down, doors kicked in and more windows smashed.

Sharing pictures of the clean-up crew on social media, Rotherham Council wrote: "This is the Rotherham we know and love – residents coming together as one community to support each other and show pride in their borough."

South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard said of the clean-up efforts at the Rotherham hotel: “I’m really proud of the people that have come out this morning and have done what good people do, which is help.”

Visiting the scene, he said: “We want to come together as community because that’s what the vast majority of people in South Yorkshire want.”

Coppard, who is also the police and crime commissioner for the area, said: “If you were involved in the violence yesterday, the police will be coming after you. And I hope that those people, who may still be intent on violence, see that what’s going to happen right now is that you’re going to get locked up.”

People were also out in force to pick up the pieces in Middlesbrough, where rioters set fire to a number of cars, smashed the windows of people's homes, threw objects at police and targeted a mosque.

Hundreds of community members turned up this morning to clean up Linthorpe Road and streets in central Middlesbrough.

One volunteer said, 'I'm just doing an hour before I go to work', according to the town's MP Andy McDonald.

The people of Sunderland also came together for a huge community clean-up on Saturday morning following a night of destruction, with volunteers working their way through the streets with bin bags, dustpans and brushes.

Local Brett Redmayne, 43, said: “The atmosphere around the city with the hundreds that showed up was one of support and unity.

“These people who rioted don’t speak for Sunderland and we are ashamed and embarrassed. This morning, though, we all wanted to show support and help clean the city.

Mum of victim issues plea for end to violence

There have been numerous calls for an end to the violent unrest, from politicians to locals.

However, one of the most poignant comments came from Jenni Stancombe, the mother of Elsie Dot Stancombe, who was killed in the attack.

Elsie’s family had not spoken about the grief they were dealing with but Stancombe broke her silence to call for an end to the protests.

She 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.”

Placards held aloft against rioters

The riot that took place in Southport last week was no doubt a terrifying situation for locals to have to go through, especially after the events of the previous day.

However, it didn’t stop bravery shining through, with one woman standing in the middle of the protest holding a placard that read: “One race – human. Hope, not hate. Racism not welcome here.”

The Liverpool Post reported that the woman was “surrounded by men involved in the riot”.

She received praise by social media users, with one person describing her as “incredibly brave”, while another called her a “hero”.

Fundraisers

It is not unusual for fundraisers to be launched following a tragedy but Southport has seen several different ones spread.

Thousands of pounds has been raised for good causes, with several appeals launched on GoFundMe. The Community Foundation for Merseyside, in partnership with Sefton Council and Sefton CVS, has launched the Southport Strong Together Appeal on JustGiving, and saw its first donation of £50,000 from the Liverpool ONE Foundation.

Taylor Swift fans have so far helped raise more than £360,000 for victims of the attack with their Swifties Fundraiser for Alder Hey Children’s Charity online fundraiser, which quickly went viral after it was set up.

The vigil

The day after the stabbings, Southport residents came together to pay their respects to Alice, Bebe and Elsie.

Hundreds of people gathered in Hart Street, close to the scene of the incident, laying flowers, balloons and cards as they paid tribute to the girls.

With such strength of feeling among residents of the Merseyside town, many pubs, shops and restaurants temporarily closed so that staff would be able to attend the vigil.

Many of those taking part in a vigil on Tuesday evening were in tears as they laid flowers and cards of remembrance.

Steven Gerrard and Anthony Gordon’s huge donations

Former England and Liverpool footballer Steven Gerrard donated £10,000 to the Southport Dance Group Emergency Fund.

The former Reds captain’s donation follows another £10,000 pledge by former Everton star Anthony Gordon, now of Newcastle United.

The Merseyside footballers’ donations mean over £69,000 has now been raised on the page, which was launched “on behalf of preschool dance companies in the UK” and is pledged to go directly to families affected by Monday’s attack.