Yoga teacher Leanne Lucas left fighting for life after Southport stabbing 'awake' and 'recovering'

A yoga teacher who was left fighting for her life after she tried to save children during the Southport stabbing on Monday is ‘awake and recovering’.

Leanne Lucas, 35, was one of the organisers of the Taylor Swift-themed dance event at The Hart Space, where the deadly knife attack took place.

Leanne and another teacher bravely tried to save the children during the mass stabbing. Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were fatally stabbed in the incident. Eight other children suffered knife wounds – five of whom are in a critical condition. Leanne, along with another adult, were also critically hurt.

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A local yoga page previously posted a picture of Leanne on Facebook, with a caption reading: "I'm absolutely devastated. Please please pray for Leanne. Leanne came on my training course in December. A beautiful young creative girl who was so passionate about helping children."

Today Leanne’s family have said the 35-year-old has spoken for the first time and is awake and recovering, the BBC reports.

Her cousin Chris Rimmer described Leanne as a “hero” and who “shielded two girls” during the attack. He added that she is “not out of the woods yet”, but is recovering.

“Everyone that is sat in this house right now is just concentrating on getting her home and concentrating on her [recovering enough] that we can see her,” he said.

On Wednesday (July 31), Merseyside Police confirmed that detectives had been granted more time to quiz the 17-year-old boy, arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder over the incident.

The families of the three girls who lost their lives continue to be supported by specialist officers. Bebe's