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A small team of journalists from BBC Breakfast followed the families of the Southport victims throughout 2025 for the documentary Our Girls: The Southport Families.
The documentary, available on iPlayer, focuses on the joy the girls brought to their families and the legacy their fathers left in their memories.
The two families did not know each other before the tragedy, but they have become close since then.
“There are two families in the world that know how we feel. They are two families,” said Jenny Stancombe, Elsie’s mother.
Her husband, David, said Elsie encouraged him to run the marathon.
“We would sit in the living room and watch [the London Marathon] “I lost my mom not long ago the year before,” David said.
“Elsie was really keen to fundraise. She wanted me to run it for Queenscourt Hospice because that’s who looks after my mum. I was like ‘yeah, yeah maybe darling’. Who wants to run 26.2 miles? It’s not something you just get up and do.”
“It looked like I was going to run the London Marathon for Queenscourt. But yeah, it didn’t happen. I ended up running for Elsie.”
Legacy projects created for each girl include “Alice’s WonderDance,” designed by the Aguiars to support young artists with uniforms, classrooms and transportation.
The Stancombes set up Elsie’s Story, a charity that provides grants to help young people and support others in the Southport area.
One project they helped fund is Bebe’s Hive, a creative hub set up by the Kings that provides support for grieving children.
Earlier this year, families helped secure funding for a £10 million refurbishment of Southport Town Hall.
The plans, inspired by the girls’ love of dance, music and the arts, will be a ‘thank you’ to the people of Southport for their support in the wake of the tragedy.
The families hope the space in the heart of downtown will become a “legacy inspired by our three beautiful and amazing girls.”
“It will be a place of joy, hope and community,” the families said. “A vibrant place where children and families can feel safe, connected and celebrated in the heart of our city.”
Former boxing champion Dr Mark Prince won the award in 2024 for his work with the Kean Price Foundation, which works to steer young people away from knife crime through boxing.
Previous winners include rugby league legend Rob Burrow, Scottish rugby union player Doddie Weir, Hillsborough campaigner Anne Williams, football fan Bradley Lowry and racing driver Billy Munger.
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