Hero PCSO Barry Calder tells about the support he has received while completing five marathons in just five days
A Police Community Support Officer whose decisive action saved the life of a child who was stabbed eight times during the Southport attack has completed five marathons in five days.
Barry Calder was one of the first responders to arrive at the scene and immediately began triaging injured children.
“I looked across the street and just saw a pair of very tiny, small legs and initially thought they were underneath a transit van, and then I remember rolling her over and finding six more stab wounds in her back,” he said.
Barry previously served for more than 30 years with the Metropolitan Police. His roles included Armed Response Officer and Police Medic, and he dealt with major incidents such as the Westminster Bridge terrorist attack before retiring in 2022.
But he missed the job so much that in 2024, he joined Merseyside Police as a PCSO.
He was only six weeks into training when Axel Rudakubana launched his attack, and said the scene that met him that day was truly horrific.
“I probably wouldn’t be able to put into words how shocking and horrific it was. People shouldn’t ever have to see a child injured, never mind multiple children injured,” Barry said.
The children had been attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga workshop in 2024.
Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, Alice Aguiar, 9, and Bebe King, 6, died in the attack. Eight other children and two adults were physically injured.
They included “Natasha” who was stabbed while trying to shield her little sister from the attacker.
A court order is in place protecting the identity of all the injured girls. Natasha is not this child’s real name. We have called her mum Louise and changed her voice.
Louise told ITV News: “He packed her wounds and I genuinely hand on heart believe if he hadn’t done that in that moment we would be sat here in a completely different situation.”
She praised the immense bravery shown by both her daughters and believes that by placing herself in harm’s way, her eldest daughter saved her sister’s life.
“As much as I hate talking about what happened that day, I think it speaks volumes for the bravery and the love that she has for her family without her. Without her, I don’t think her little sister would be here either,” she said.
Both sisters were treated for stab wounds at Alder Hey Children’s hospital in Liverpool.
Barry said Natasha’s injuries were so severe that he feared she wouldn’t survive. But they’ve since met and now share a bond which he said will never be broken.
She was at his side as he set off on a huge charity challenge of five marathons in five days, covering 131 miles and visiting every operational police station in Merseyside.
Barry described it as a deeply personal mission, raising money for local causes and mental health support for those living with trauma.
He sought help from Police Care UK in the aftermath of the attack – a charity that provides free and confidential support for serving and veteran police officers and staff, volunteers, and their families.
“I insisted to everyone that I was OK, and I clearly wasn’t, and things slowly got worse,” he said.
Last year, demand for the service went up by 25%.
“If I hadn’t had help from police care, I wouldn’t still be policing. I just want to do something just to help others in the way that I got helped”, he said.
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