Grief of taxi rank victim's mother as 2,000 gather in rain at memorial service for Derrick Bird's victims

Incomprehensible: A little girl, soaking with rain, stands to look at a makeshift cross in Seascale where a memorial service was held today

Anguish: Betty Scoones, the mother of Darren Rewcastle, is comforted by her family as she attends the memorial service

Sombre: Around 500 people attended the service near where Bird struck

In mourning: Seascale stopped as hundreds stopped for the ceremony

Clinging to a friend for comfort, this is the grieving mother of Cumbria massacre victim Darren Rewcastle.

Betty Scoones, 69, was among 2,000 mourners at a memorial service in Whitehaven's square yesterday.

Her 43-year-old taxi driver son was gunned down in the town by mass killer Derrick Bird in what is thought to have been a dispute over fares.
In Seascale, some 500 mourners braved a torrential downpour to express their solidarity.

The 40-minute memorial service was for three victims - Jane Robinson, 66, Michael Pike, 65, and Jamie Clark, 23 - who died within minutes of each other in the village.

'It's over': Derrick Bird's Thai girlfriend dumped him by text just weeks before he went on gun rampage

Catch: Bird and a fish he caught during one of his Thai trips

World traveller: Bird in Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt, in 2008

Reputation: Derrick Bird enjoyed scuba-diving holidays, but those who accompanied him said that he was known as a 'lech' and dubbed 'the dog'

Derrick Bird's Thai lover dumped him by text message a few weeks before he went on his gun rampage, friends have revealed.

The overweight and balding 52-year-old was obsessed with the woman he knew only as 'Hon' and had sent her thousands of pounds.

He met the 32-year-old on holiday in Thailand three years ago and she had promised to move to England to be with him.

That prospect was heaven-sent to a man known to friends as 'the dog' because of the way he ogled women.
Yet a few weeks ago she broke the news that she was seeing someone else, sending him the simple message: 'It's over.'

What has our dad done? Anguish of mass murderer's sons as family feud is blamed for massacre which left 13 dead

In shock: Derrick Bird's sons Jamie, 16, and Graeme, 28, outside their mother's home in Cumbria today

Victims: Garry Purdham (left) and Susan Hughes were both killed by Derrick Bird

Shot down: (left to right) Taxi driver Darren Rewcastle, Jane Robinson and mole catcher Isaac Dixon

Wounded but alive: Whitehaven taxi driver Don Reed was shot and injured by Bird

* Killer Derrick Bird had held gun licence for 20 years
* Police face questions about why he wasn't stopped sooner
* Victims include his own twin brother and family solicitor
* Six still in hospital - 2 'stable but serious', 4 'comfortable'
* Cameron warns against 'knee-jerk' gun crackdown

Grief etched across his ashen face, the son of mass murderer Derrick Bird today appeared barely able to contain his anguish.

As Graeme Bird spent 90 agonising minutes with his stunned mother Linda - the gunman's ex wife, police were struggling to piece together what turned a 'quiet' cabbie into a killer.

The 52-year-old's bloody spree before he killed himself left 12 people dead yesterday across a string of usually peaceful Lake District towns.

Bird's younger son Jamie, 16, was later also seen outside his mother's home in Lamplugh. His fringe swept across his face, he looked shell-shocked following the events of the last 24 hours.
Detectives are now probing claims that the 52-year-old grandfather had been embroiled in a furious feud with his family about his financial affairs.

It appears clashes with fellow taxi drivers may have been the trigger than sent Bird, who was described by friends as a quiet, unassuming man, over the edge.

He looked straight at me and fired, he seemed so calm: Survivor recalls moment she came face to face with killer

Survivor: Carol Youngs, pictured with her husband Jed, feared she would be killed by Derrick Bird

Shocked: A policewoman stands guard over the body of one of Derrick Bird's victims, a fellow taxi driver, in Whitehaven

Shock: A police officer lays a floral tribute in Whitehaven, close to where Mrs Youngs was confronted by Bird after he shot a taxi driver

Crime scene: Police inspect a taxi cab in Whitehaven, where two people were killed

For several terrifying seconds, Carol Youngs stared directly into the eyes of Derrick Bird and then down the barrel of his gun.

There was no time to think or move. As they returned glances, he pressed the firearm - complete with sight - into his shoulder and took aim.

Mrs Youngs, 48, was leaning over the body of Bird's first victim, a taxi driver, in Duke Street, Whitehaven, attempting to save the man's life, despite his terrible injuries.

Her phone was clamped to her ear as she spoke to an emergency operator.
Then the mother of four saw Bird and her heart stopped. Moments later he pulled the trigger and, as the noise of the gunshot rang out, he claimed his second victim of the morning.

The bullet she believes was intended for her hit a passer-by standing on the pavement only feet from where she was crouching.

Showing not a flicker of emotion, Bird - wearing a black fleece and black trousers - lowered the gun and walked away around the corner.
It was utterly terrifying,' Mrs Youngs told the Mail yesterday. 'He looked straight at me and fired.

VICTIMS: Twelve who died in a three hour bloodbath in Taxi Driver murderous gun rampage in Cumbria by Derrick Bird

Killed: Jane Robinson, 66, was shot after Bird beckoned her over to his car

Killed: Jane Robinson, 66, was shot after Bird beckoned her over to his car

Shot down: Taxi driver Darren Rewcastle was one of the people killed in Bird's shooting rampage

Easy target: Garry Purdham, pictured with his son Flynn, was killed as he worked on a farm

Twelve victims lost their lives at the hands of Derrick Bird during three hours of mayhem. They were:

DARREN REWCASTLE
A fellow taxi driver in his 30s described as 'a loveable rogue' by other cabbies, he was shot as he walked to a cafe in Whitehaven.

Well-liked by many who used the town's cab ranks, Bird is believed to have accused him of 'touting' by ignoring queues to pick up fares first.

David Nicholson, 56, said: 'He was a quiet lad, never caused anybody any trouble. He used to love playing on slot machin

KEVIN COMMONS

The 60-year-old local solicitor, who had offices around West Cumbria, is thought to have been shot at his farmhouse near Frizington.

He lived with his wife Helen and ran KJ Commons solicitors with branches in Workington, Whitehaven and Carlisle specialising in probate, clinical negligence and personal injury.

Police are seeking to establish whether Bird targeted him after being represented by him or whether he was picked out at random.

DAVID BIRD
Derrick Bird's twin brother, a former mechanic who is believed to have been working as a lorry driver. According to neighbours he was shot in his car close to his home in Frizington.

Friends and relatives said he was far more outgoing than his brother.

Slaughter in the Lake District: Taxi driver Derrick Bird's first victim was his twin brother

A forensics team inspects a taxi in Coach Road, Whitehaven

Killed in cold blood: Father-of-two Garry Purdham was trimming a hedge when Bird gunned him down from point-blank range

Cumbria Police handout of a map identifying the roads on which Derrick Bird travelled during his shooting spree that left a dozen people dead.Victims: Bird struck across Cumbria leaving 11 dead in a deadly killing spree

A forensics team inspects a taxi in Coach Road, Whitehaven

Rampage: Derrick Bird killed 12 people on his shooting spree through Cumbria, including his twin brother

A trivial row over rivals stealing fares is believed to have sparked a taxi driver's horrific killing spree which left 13 dead yesterday.

After a heated argument on Tuesday night, Derrick Bird is said to have stormed off saying: 'There's going to be a rampage tomorrow.'

Bird, 52, awoke next morning to commit the worst massacre in Britain since Dunblane in 1996.

After shooting dead his twin brother, a solicitor and a taxi driver, he calmly unleashed carnage across the area to the west of the Lake District over the following three hours.