The hero window cleaner who confronted the Southport stabber as he attacked a group of young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class has revealed he wanted to ‘hurt him so bad’.

Joel Verite, 25, stopped at the scene of Monday’s attack to come to the aid of a screaming woman outside – who told him there was someone in the nursery stabbing children.

Joel immediately sprinted into the building where the carnage was taking place and saw children and adults covered in blood – before ‘locking eyes’ with the knifeman at the top of the stairs.

The young dad, who is also a personal trainer, charged at the attacker, scaring him off, before carrying stabbed girls away from the scene.

Describing how the event unfolded, Joel  said:

‘We were just listening to music in our own world, then he [his colleague] slammed on the brakes and all I can see from my side is a girl hanging from the side of her car.

I jumped out the car and I just asked her if she was alright. She just looked in complete shock and had blood all over her body.

‘She just screamed at me: ‘He’s killing kids over there, he’s killing kids over there’.’

On coming face-to-face with the attacker:

‘There were two men in the gym where I used to go to … they’re pointing to the dance studio saying ‘he’s in there’.

‘I open the door downstairs … there’s a guy at the bottom of the stairs with a full tracksuit, his hood up, with a knife.

‘We’ve looked at each other and he’s scurried off to the side.’

Asked what was going through his head when he and the knifeman saw each other, Joel said:

‘I’m thinking things that I’m not allowed to say on Sky News right now.

‘I’m really scared, all I saw was a knife … I’m there by myself at the bottom of the stairs.’

Joel said he smashed the door to prevent the knifeman escaping before returning to the car park.

‘I came outside and I’m hectic now because I’ve seen the guy. I’m screaming because I knew where he was,

‘I was screaming ‘where’s the police, where’s the police?’.’

Joel said it ‘felt like a lifetime’ before police officers arrived at the scene, but when they did, they managed to subdue the suspect with Joel in tow. A lot of the reports are stating that Joel himself ‘wrestled’ or ‘tackled’ the suspect, but he doesn’t seem to mention this at all in the interview, so I guess that’s just the Daily Mail and co making things up for no reason.

The three child victims have today been named as six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar. Eight other children were injured and two adults who also heroically intervened were wounded.

Big up Joel and all the other adults who tried to protect the girls and were injured in the process. They almost certainly saved lives thanks to their courage and quick actions. We all like to think we’d step up in a situation like that, but who knows how we’d react when faced with a hooded figure carrying a knife that they’ve just used to stab young girls with. Thoughts with the friends and families of their victims, and here’s hoping the trauma doesn’t mess up Joel too much.

The incident has sparked riots in Southport this week from angry parents and members of the community – resulting in this viral moment for one rioter.