Derrick Bird’s killing spree began in the early hours of a summer’s day last June, with the murder of his twin brother and family solicitor, culminating in a rampage leaving 10 more innocent victims dead in the space of an hour and ending when he turned the gun on himself.

JUNE 2, 2010

:: Early hours: Bird leaves his house in Rowrah and travels to the Lamplugh home of his twin brother, David, 52, whom he then murders. The killing spree has begun but his first victim is not found for several hours.

:: 5.30am: Bird is reportedly spotted lurking outside the home of the family solicitor Kevin Commons at Yeat House Road, Frizington.

:: 10.20am: Cumbria Police receive the first call reporting shots fired in Frizington. Armed officers are sent and find Mr Commons, 60, dead in the driveway of his house.

:: 10.33am: a second call is made to police about gunshots in Duke Street, Whitehaven, where taxi driver Darren Rewcastle, 43, is shot dead and former soldier Don Reed shot in the back.

:: A police van begins the pursuit, but Bird turns the gun on the unarmed officers and then races off. He is lost by his pursuers.

:: RAF helicopters are scrambled to help find Bird.

:: 11am as David Bird’s body is found, his twin tears through the countryside, firing at will as police issue public warnings to people in west Cumbria to stay indoors.

:: 11am to 11.35am Bird continues to murder and injure, the victims following in quick succession: :: Kenneth Fishburn, 71, a retired Sellafield worker, is shot dead on the old bridge in Egremont.

:: Susan Hughes, 57, a mother-of-two, is killed as she walks home with her shopping in Egremont.

:: Jennifer Jackson, 68, is blasted to death, along with her husband James, 67, as he comes looking for his wife.

:: Bird shoots Isaac Dixon, 65, in a field near Carleton Wood while the part-time mole catcher is in conversation with a farmer.

:: Rugby league player Garry Purdham, 31, is shot dead at point blank range as he works in a field in Gosforth.

:: Retired Sellafield worker Michael Pike, 64, is taking his daily morning bicycle ride through Seascale when he is blasted to death by Bird. Seconds later, further up Drigg Road, he shoots and kills Jane Robinson, 66, as she delivers home shopping catalogues.

:: Estate agent Jamie Clark, 23, dies after Bird opens fire on his car as he is driving just outside Seascale.

:: 12.30pm: The last known eyewitness sees Bird alive. Officers find his car dumped in Boot with one gun inside, and realise he is on foot with a rifle.

:: 12.41pm: Officers name the suspect as Derrick Bird, 52, from Rowrah, near Frizington, and issue a photograph of him.

:: 1.30pm - Sellafield nuclear plant goes into lockdown. Bird is found dead at a wooded area, a remote beauty spot outside the village of Boot. He has left 12 dead and 11 others injured.

NOVEMBER 2, 2010

:: An independent review by Adrian Whiting, chairman of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) Firearms and Licensing Working Group, concludes there were “no reasonable opportunities” within the present gun licensing system that could have stopped Bird from holding guns.

:: The review recommends a change in the law to prevent criminals who receive suspended jail terms from holding a gun licence for five years. A jail term would have triggered an automatic ban on Bird from keeping guns and he would have had to re-apply for his licence.

:: Co-incidentally on the same day, Jude Talbot, the daughter of Bird victim, Michael Pike, gave evidence to MPs reviewing the control of firearms. She called for tighter gun laws and firearms to be kept in gun clubs and banned from being kept in homes.

MARCH 1, 2011

:: The inquest into the death of Derrick Bird, and his victims, begins.