Crying ex-nursery worker hangs head in shame after 'adrenaline got the better of her'

A former nursery worker cried and hung her head in shame in court as she was shown what happened when 'adrenaline got the better of her' after the Southport stabbings.

Ellie Clarke, 21, hurled racial abuse and struck out at a police officer's riot shield as violence erupted in Southport following the fatal stabbings of six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice Da Silva Aguiar in July.

A court heard on Tuesday that crowds had gathered in the area around St Luke's Road in the town in the evening of July 30, the day after the killings, and hurled missiles towards police officers at the Southport Islamic Society Mosque while chanting "this is our f***ing country", "s***houses", "scumbag b*****ds" and "who the f*** is Allah?".

More than 50 PCs were injured during the incident with "significant" damage also being caused to residents' properties.

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Christopher Taylor, prosecuting at Liverpool Crown Court, described how Clarke was seen "at the front of the mob" at around 8.45pm. Clarke, of Chestnut Street in Southport, then pointed towards a cordon which had been formed by officers and shouted "if it was your f***ing daughter who was stabbed dead by a f***ing p**i" and "pushed aggressively" at one of their riots shields.

Appearing in the dock wearing a bright pink cardigan over a black top and with long brown hair, she sat with her head bowed in the dock as bodycam footage of the incident began to be played to the court before wiping her eyes with a tissue. Clarke was arrested on Duke Street in Southport on September 2 in an "agreed meeting" after she had been circulated as wanted, reports The Echo.