A hero dance teacher who was left critically injured after a horror stabbing rampage in Southport which killed three young girls took knife blows to the arms, back and neck as she protected children with her body, it’s been revealed today.
Leanne Lucas, who organised the Taylor Swift-themed holiday club, has had life-saving surgery and is now awake, her family said on Wednesday.
Recounting Ms Lucas’ actions after the knifeman entered the class through an open door and began attacking children, a relative described how she bent over two little girls, shielding them with her own body, as she was repeatedly struck from behind.
The 35-year-old had managed to bundle several people into a storage cupboard to protect them and then bravely stepped in as the attacker advanced on two young children, the Times reports.
Her cousin Chris Rimmer, 41, said she sounded ‘broken’ after awaking after surgery.
Leanne Lucas, who organised the Taylor Swift-themed holiday club, has had life-saving surgery and is now awake, her family said on Wednesday
Bebe King, six, was the youngest child killed at the holiday club in Southport, Merseyside
Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, was also killed in the attack – her grieving mother has since called for calm
Alice, nine, died in the early hours of Tuesday after a hooded knifeman entered the Taylor Swift-themed holiday club and began stabbing the children in attendance
Alice Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Stancombe, seven, were killed at the class when a hooded knifeman burst in and began stabbing the children in attendance.
Ms Lucas and another teacher holding the class, Heidi Barlow, both courageously tried to save as many of the children in their care as they could.
Ms Barlow, 35, is said to have locked herself in a toilet with several children, saving their lives.
Ms Lucas’ family were told by first responders at the scene how she pushed two people into a stoarge room, then ‘bent over two little girls’ and used her body as a shield to protect them.
‘She put her arms up, all her arms are cut,’ Mr Rimmer said.
He added Ms Lucas’s bravery was all the more extraordinary due to her small stature: ‘She’s tiny and she’s as thin as a rake.’
Mr Rimmer said his cousin is ‘just worried about everyone else’ and that she ‘always thinks about everyone else before herself.’
He told the paper online rumours Ms Lucas had died made the excruciating wait for news all the harder.
And after attending the peaceful vigil to remember the three girls killed, the landscaping firm he works for is today assisting with the clean-up operation.
Her bravery was also hailed by relatives as her loved ones hope for further good news.
‘She’s only tiny, she wouldn’t have stood a chance against a man with a knife, but she just wanted to protect those children,’ said her aunt, Pauline Bennett, 64.
‘I can’t imagine what she would have been thinking when he came through the door.
‘It all happened so quickly, she just did what she could. Her sister stayed at her bedside all night and her parents are with her now.
‘We’re just hoping and praying that she’s going to be ok. Leanne loves teaching children, it’s all she’s ever wanted to do.
‘She just loves children. It’s just heartbreaking that someone could do something like this.’
A former school friend said: ‘To my knowledge she organised it, she used to be a primary school teacher at a local school.
‘She was really really lovely. I only knew her from high school. Quite quiet, she was primary school teacher, she wanted to help people.
‘That’s why you get into it, to do everything you can and that’s what she’s done.’
A neighbour of her parents John and Allison said: ‘It’s absolutely horrendous, they’re a lovely family.
‘We’re all just too upset to say anything at the moment.’
