The mum of one of the three young girls who were killed in a mass stabbing in Southport has taken to social media to ask people to “stop the violence”.
A crowd of men, many wearing masks and hoodies, were embroiled in a running battle with police officers outside a mosque in the Merseyside town on Tuesday evening .
Chants of “English til I die” were heard before the outbreak of the violence, in which at least 50 police officers were injured.
Tuesday evening’s clashes came after false claims spread online that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat.
Southport stabbings latest: Farage accused of ‘ramping up hatred’
The group descended on Southport as it was already reeling from the knife attack that left three children dead – with a peaceful vigil also held earlier in the evening.
Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were fatally stabbed outside a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Monday.
Police have confirmed that a 17-year-old arrested over the attack was born in Wales.
The teenager, who has not been named because of his age, remains in custody having been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, and police have been granted more time to question him.
‘Stop the violence’
The mother of Elsie took to social media on Tuesday evening to ask people to “stop the violence” in Southport.
She said: “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 in these last 24 hours and they and we don’t need this.”
As well as the three children who died, eight other youngsters suffered stab wounds and five are in a critical condition, alongside two adults who were also critically injured, police said.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘Nothing better than Tommy Robinson in a suit’
Nigel Farage came under fire over claims he had “whipped up” rioters in Southport with the Reform UK leader branded “nothing better than Tommy Robinson in a suit”.
Mr Farage doubled down on comments made on social media where he questioned “whether the truth is being withheld from us” following the attack.
The newly-elected MP has come in for strong criticism, including from Brendan Cox, husband of murdered MP Jo Cox.
Mr Cox told BBC Radio Four’s Today programme Mr Farage’s remarks made him “nothing better than a Tommy Robinson in a suit”.
He added: “It is beyond the pale to use a moment like this to spread your narrative and to spread your hatred, and we saw the results on Southport’s streets last night.”
👉 Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts 👈
But Mr Farage defended his position and insisted he had “merely expressed a sense of sadness and concern that is being felt by absolutely everybody I know – ‘what the hell is going on?'”
Woman confronts rioters
Shop owner Chanaka Balasuryla said the Southport community has rallied around him since his store was looted during the disorder.
He rang 999 after he spotted men trying to smash their way in on CCTV cameras from his home, five minutes away.
Mr Balasuryla said he was “terrified” when he thought they would set the property on fire, as there was a woman and daughter living in the flat above.
But he said he later found out that the woman confronted the raiders, telling them it was her shop in an attempt to stop them.
Read more:
Thousands attend vigil as tributes paid to girls killed in attack
Police officers injured in disorder outside mosque
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.”
Locals left to clean up
On Wednesday morning, dozens of residents were outside Southport mosque with brushes and shovels to clean up.
Firefighters were also seen filling up buckets of water for the flowers left in tribute to the victims of the attack.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
Norman Wallis, chief executive of Southport Pleasureland, was among those helping.
He said: “It’s horrendous what those hooligans have done last night. It was like a war scene. People from out of town just causing absolute mayhem.
“People in hoods climbing up lampposts, throwing bricks, they set a police car on fire.
“But none of those people were the people of Southport. The people of Southport are the ones here today cleaning the mess up.
“Those people from out of town – they came in in buses and cars and had a change of clothes. They just started to riot and do this.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
More than 50 officers injured
The chairman of Merseyside Police Federation, Chris McGlade, said more than 50 officers had been hurt in the “sustained and vicious attack”.
He added: “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.”
