The mum of Alice da Silva Aguiar, one of three young girls killed in an attack on a dance class in Southport, has praised her local community in her first interview since her daughter was murdered.
Warning: Some readers may find details in this article distressing
Portuguese-born Alex Aguiar, mother of Alice, told the Liverpool Echo that Southport now feels like home for her.
She moved to the area in 2010, and said the support of the community since the attack on 29 July last year had been invaluable.
Alice, nine, was killed alongside Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, six, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class by Axel Rudakubana.
Ms Aguiar said: “Everyone has been incredible, people who don’t know us and we’re not from here and we’ve got so much help.
“People have been very kind, wanting to help us, we didn’t expect that. We feel at home and we don’t feel like we have to go back.”
The 34-year-old paid tribute to her daughter in her first media interview since the attack.
She described how Alice loved dancing and had started baby ballet aged just 16 months old.
Alice grew fond of having one of the teachers, Heidi Liddle, as her dance instructor and her mum said she was “fuming” when Ms Liddle went on maternity leave.
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Ms Liddle was one of two adults, along with class instructor Leanne Lucas, present at the dance class during the attack by Rudakubana.
The parents of Bebe and Elsie previously described how they hoped their daughters would be remembered, in an interview on Good Morning Britain.
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Rudakubana entered the building and began indiscriminately attacking people.
The 18-year-old was jailed for a minimum of 52 years last month for the murders of the three young girls and attempted murder of eight other children and two adults.
