Southport: Nursery nurse who saved children in 1996 Wolverhampton machete attack speaks of heartbreak
A nursery nurse who heroically saved children from a machete-wielding attacker in a 1996 incident similar to the recent Southport stabbings has spoken of her ‘heartbreak’ over the tragedy.
Lisa Potts was severely injured while protecting children during a knife attack at St Luke’s Primary School in Wolverhampton in 1996. The attack occurred during a teddy bear's picnic when paranoid schizophrenic Horrett Campbell indiscriminately attacked both children and adults with a machete. This was the last such case of mass violence involving children in the UK for 28 years, until Monday's tragic stabbings.
Lisa, who was 21 at the time, suffered severe injuries while shielding the children in her care, nearly losing her arm in the process. Her quick thinking, which included hiding the children under her long skirt, is credited with saving their lives.
Now 49 and a mother of two, Lisa from Wolverhampton has been deeply affected by the news of the Southport stabbings, where six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar were killed in an attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club.
"It's absolutely heartbreaking to hear about this shocking incident," Lisa said. "I'm lost for words that something like this can be happening. My heart is breaking, and my thoughts go out to the families of the children who have gone, those left with life-changing injuries, and to the whole Southport community."
Reflecting on her own experience, she added: "In our situation all those years ago, we were thankful that there were no deaths, although there was much trauma to deal with in the aftermath. I was thinking only recently that there had been no further tragedies like this involving a large children's group setting in the UK since what happened at St Luke's."
Lisa was awarded the George Medal by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997 for her bravery during the attack, and she was also made a Freewoman of the City of Wolverhampton in recognition of her courage and her subsequent work as a nurse and charity organiser.
During Monday's attack in Southport, five children and two adults were critically injured during a dance and yoga class organised by dance coach Leanne Lucas, who is believed to have been injured while trying to fend off the attacker.
A 17-year-old boy, whose identity is protected for legal reasons, is currently in custody facing charges of murder and attempted murder.