By Andrew Brown Stand Up For Southport
A young boy riding in his plastic tractor to deliver drinks and chocolates to local police officers after the tragedy and the riot in Southport last summer was among many signs of kindness and support shown by the local community.
Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy thanked people for their compassion as she spoke at a Participatory Budget event at The Bold in Southport town centre, as a total of £25,000 seized from criminals was presented to representatives from 18 Southport community groups.
Serena Kennedy said: “I am absolutely delighted to see such a full room for this first participatory budget event here in Southport.
“I feel compelled to mention the dreadful events of the summer. We are thinking of the victims and their families as we have done since the 29th of July last year.
“We are also thinking of you, as a community, and the impact it has had on yourselves.
“I just want to say a huge thank you from me as the Chief Constable to you to the communities of Southport .
“The support you have shown to my officers and staff in those days after those events and have continued to do so was just outstanding.”
The Chief Constable spoke about the devastation caused to the community by last summer’s tragedy in Southport in which there young girls were killed with several children and adults wounded.
It was followed just 24 hours later by a riot which caused huge damage to people’s homes, businesses, cars, and to Southport Mosque, with police vans set alight and over 50 police officers hospitalised through injuries sustained after being attacked by rioters.
Serena Kennedy said: “I was obviously very present in Southport at that time and have visited since and have spoken with the officers and staff.
“That was one of the worst days of my service. Seeing officer, after officer, after officer, being brought into Southport Police Station, because that is where the North West Ambulance Service were doing triage, to see your officers being brought in with those injuries and feeling incredibly helpless.
“Going back there on the Thursday of that week and seeing all the cards had been delivered to the station and literally the wall as you go in through the back door of Southport Police Station was just full of cards from members of the community.
“I remember coming to an event at the Town Hall about six weeks later and bumping into someone who was dropping off dog chews and dog toys for our police dogs that were injured.
“The level of support has been tremendous. Natalie, who is the head of local policing, told me a tale that when she had been out on patrol there was a little boy with his plastic tractor riding up and down the street, having spent his pocket money buying drinks and chocolates for the officers.
“He was driving up and down in his little plastic tractor delivering those drinks and chocolates to the officers and the staff who were on the cordons.
“It is these events, it is things like that, that make us feel incredibly appreciated in what were the darkest days for many of us in our service, so a huge thank you from me.”
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