Just three weeks ago, in a city known for its flower shows, amusement arcades and funfair, What should have been a joyous start to the school holidays turned into an unspeakable tragedy.
Rob and Julia Urwin were walking their three-year-old granddaughter Elsie in nearby Formby when they first heard of the attack.
“We got a message from our daughter about the stabbing incident,” says Rob, a lifelong Southport FC fan and programme editor for the past 15 years.
“We didn’t think much about it at the time. It was only when we got home that we realised the seriousness of it.”
Elsie’s best friend at nursery is Rosie, Elsie’s sister Dot Stancombe, who “Beautiful, sweet and gentle”, said her great aunt.
“There’s an atmosphere of shock and disappointment in the town,” says Rob, whose wife Julia is club photographer at Southport FC.
“We are very close to the location where this incident occurred and it has shaken everyone to their core.”
Rob said his granddaughter Elsie has been assisting Rosie by helping to make the butterfly cakes.
The attack at Southport, a part-time club who play in the sixth-tier National League North, occurred as the club returned from a weekend in Belfast where they played a pre-season friendly against Cliftonville.
The entire community was plunged into mourning upon hearing the news of the horrific incident that occurred on that sunny Monday morning.
“The worst news is coming out today which is absolutely horrific. My thoughts and prayers are with those affected and their families.” Southport midfielder Danny Lloyd wrote,, external A veteran of over 100 Football League appearances, X.
Captain Jordan Keane Added on X:, external “Devastating. My thoughts are with everyone involved.”
Three weeks have passed and many have still not recovered from the incident, including Southport boss Bentley.
The Liverpool-born father of two said: “We don’t have enough words to say to the families affected by the tragedy that has struck the city.”
“I’m on a WhatsApp group with my friends and the day it happened they were all saying how much more they were going to hug their kids that night.”