Teen arrested following 'horror movie' Southport stabbings at Taylor Swift-themed yoga class

A teenager remains in police custody after at least eight people were injured in a “horror movie” knife attack close to a Taylor Swift-themed yoga class.

Merseyside Police said the stabbings are not being treated as terror-related after a local councillor said one child is feared dead.

The force said a 17-year-old boy, from the village of Banks, was arrested and is set to be questioned following the “major incident” at a property in Hart Street, Southport, north of Liverpool, at about 11.50am on Monday.

One witness told the PA news agency that he called the police to an address behind The Hart Space studios, where a Taylor Swift-themed yoga class for children in school years two to six, aged between six and 11, was taking place.

A local councillor said he had attended the scene in Southport on Monday where a police officer had told him a child had died following the attack.

When asked if he could confirm the death of a child, the councillor told PA: “That is my understanding of the situation.”

North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) said it had so far treated eight patients with stab injuries, who were taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Aintree University Hospital and Southport and Formby hospital.

Witnesses described hearing “screaming” and seeing bleeding children running from the scene.

Colin Parry, owner of Masters Vehicle Body Repairs, said he believed that six or seven “young girls” had been stabbed.

He went on: “The mothers are coming here now and screaming.

“It is like a scene from a horror movie.”