Leanne Lucas: Yoga teacher stabbed in Southport protecting children, cousin says

Mr Rimmer said Ms Lucas had ushered children into a storage room and “shielded two little girls” from the attacker, which is when she is thought to have been injured.

“She’s just a star. She always gives, and never expects anything from anybody,” he said.

“She’s one of the most outgoing people I’ve ever met in my life. She’s absolutely amazing.”

Mr Rimmer, 41, said the family had been “torn apart” by the incident but that they had gathered at home to comfort each other while her mum, dad and sister stayed by Leanne’s bedside at the hospital.

He also said that, while the family did not want to share too much information regarding her recovery, she was “doing OK” and that the family wanted to keep Leanne and the other victims of the attack at the forefront of people’s minds.

Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, died in the attack, which took place at the Hart Space, a local community hub.

Eight children, Ms Lucas, and one other adult – Jonathan Hayes – were also injured, with several in critical condition.

Speaking to the BBC from his hospital bed, Mr Hayes said he was “saddened” he could not have done more to protect the children from the attack.

Mr Rimmer, a local landscape gardener, said: “So many families have been absolutely destroyed because of what has happened.”

A 17-year-old boy was arrested on Monday on suspicion of murder and attempted murder and remains in custody.

The suspect, who cannot named because of his age, was born in Cardiff and later moved to nearby village Banks, just outside Southport.

The attack is not being treated as terror-related.