Girls' killings in Southport spur violence, police ready for more clashes

SOUTHPORT, England, July 31 (Reuters) - Police are prepared for further trouble in the English seaside town of Southport after violent clashes followed the deaths of three young girls in a frenzied knife attack at a dance class, the area's top officer said on Wednesday.

A 17-year-old male was in police custody on suspicion of murder and attempted murder after the bloody rampage on Monday at a "Taylor Swift yoga and dance workshop", a summer vacation event for children aged 6 to 11.

More than 50 officers suffered injuries in disturbances in Southport on Tuesday night that took place after false information was spread on social media that the suspect behind the stabbings the day before was a radical Islamist migrant.

Police vans were set on fire and protesters hurled bricks, bottles and fireworks at officers and at cars parked at the town's mosque.

"Just to reassure the communities of Southport, who I am sure are really worried about 'are we going to see this again tonight?' - we are absolutely planning for this evening and for the weekend ahead," Serena Kennedy, chief constable of Merseyside Police, told reporters.

As well as killing three girls aged six to nine, Monday's attack in the normally quiet town in northwest England saw eight other children stabbed. Five remain in a critical condition in hospital, along with two adults who tried to protect them.

Police are legally restricted in the details they can provide about the alleged teenage attacker, but they have said the incident was not terrorism-related and that he was born in Britain, quashing speculation on his origins.

That did not prevent protesters, who police believe were supporters of a right-wing anti-Islam, anti-immigration group, from targeting the mosque and attacking police who tried to stop them.

Politicians and police said most of those taking part in the violence were not from the area, and that the clashes detracted from a large vigil attended by thousands to pay tribute to the young victims.

Police said 53 officers were hurt, with eight treated in hospital for serious injuries including fractures and head wounds. Three police dogs were also hurt.

The police chief said she was disgusted and appalled by the violence. Four men, aged between 31 and 39, have been arrested and police were seeking to identify others involved.

"They were there purely for hooliganism and thuggery in terms of bringing that level of violence and that behaviour on to the streets of Southport and that is not what this community is about," she said.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the "violent thugs from out town" would "feel the full force of the law".

On Wednesday, streets in Southport were littered with bricks from broken walls, smashed bottles, large garbage bins and their contents. Charred tarmac bore witness to police vehicles set alight in the clashes a night earlier.

"What I saw last night was absolutely appalling ... It was devastating and it's kind of taken away from actually what's gone on, which is the tragedy of those deaths," local resident David Burgess told Sky News.

Meanwhile, Taylor Swift fans have so far raised more than 270,000 pounds ($346,000) to help families of the victims and for the hospital where some of the children were being treated.