Colourful balloons let off into Walsall skies in tearful tribute to Southport stabbing victims
Hundreds of balloons were sent into the Walsall skies as parents and children gathered to pay tribute to three young girls who were fatally stabbed in Southport.
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Bebe King, aged six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, aged nine, died at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29.
More than a week on, the tragedy continues to rock communities across the country, including in Walsall, where around 200 parents and children gathered on Thursday afternoon in a show of tribute.
'Pink, white and red' was the theme of the event at the Heroes Centre on the Bentley Industrial Park, which saw hundreds of balloons released into the sky.
The well-wishers in attendance also held a minute's silence in memory of the young Southport stabbing victims.
Sabina Hussain, who is one of the managers at the Heroes Centre, said there were a few tears in the crowd as the balloons were set free.
The mum-of-four said: "It was absolutely amazing. Every single one of us, including the children, were touched.
"It is nice that everyone can get together, it is still such a diverse community and it was so lovely to see that.
"It is not a nice world out there at the moment, but we want positivity all the way when it comes to the children."
The Heroes Centre offers tuition for youngsters and activities during the schools holidays for those who have free school meals through the Government-funded Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF).
And on Thursday, knife crime was the theme of the sessions which the youngsters, aged between five and 16 years old, attended at the centre as part of the HAF programme.
The youngest in the group were taught the importance of showing kindness whilst the older children took part in scenario-based activities.
Sabina added: "We focused the activity today on knife crime especially with recent events, we thought it would be a good thing to do to unite the community.
"That was the whole point of [the event], to show we are a community and we stand together.
"Knife crime is at its highest I would say, it is getting out of hand and we just want to educate children to stay away from [it].
"It is all to do with safety as well, not just for themselves but it could be for friends or families, giving them a bit of awareness that anything can happen when you are walking down the street."
