I was the last person to see Derrick Bird alive, says day-tripper

A day-tripper gave chase to gunman Derrick Bird's cab to give him a ticking off for hitting a car, it was reported today.

Jonathan Wilkinson, 30, told The Sun he was one of the last people to see Bird alive as he enjoyed a day out in Cumbria with his girlfriend and parents.

He said Bird's car raced past and an approaching vehicle was forced to pull into a gap to allow the Citroen Picasso minicab through. But as it did so, Bird's car clipped the side, bursting a tyre on his vehicle.

Mr Wilkinson said he gave chase to get his number and give Bird a reprimand.

He said he was unaware he was pursuing a man who had shot and injured people across west Cumbria.

The software engineer, from Northallerton, North Yorks, told The Sun: "I had no idea what the driver had done at this point but I got out of my car and ran after him down a lane.

"I thought he was a hit-and-run driver and thought I should get the registration plate and his details."

He said when he finally caught up with Bird's car on the outskirts of Boot, Cumbria, the 52-year-old had disappeared.

He was later found dead a few hundred yards away after shooting himself.

Mr Wilkinson said he began taking photos of the abandoned car to hand to police.

He said he gradually began to realise what he had stumbled across as there were bullets scattered across part of the dashboard and in the footwell of the car.

"When I saw those, the survival instinct kicked in and I just started running back as fast as I could. Now I think I must have been the last person to see him alive," he said.

He told the paper he drove on to Lancaster, still not knowing what had happened and only found out when he heard the news on the radio.