Last updated at 12:16, Saturday, 19 June 2010

DERRICK Bird, the Cumbrian gunman whose murderous rampage shocked the world and left 12 people dead, was cremated at a private funeral yesterday.

• VIDEO: Statement from Bird family friend Brian Spencer

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Eighty people attended a service at Distington Crematorium for the 52-year-old cabbie who became one of Britain’s most notorious killers when he gunned down a dozen victims before shooting himself 16 days ago.

Bird’s sons Graeme and Jamie said in a statement afterwards that they were “utterly devastated” about their father’s crime and that they would never understand why he did it.

Both men arrived on a minibus just minutes before the 5pm service. They were joined by their mother, Bird’s ex-partner Linda Mills, and their uncle Brian, the killer’s elder brother.

Earlier, dozens of family members and friends had filed solemnly into the crematorium in a mood of sorrow, but also of disbelief at what the man they knew as ‘Birdy’ had done.

They included one of Bird’s victims, taxi driver Paul Wilson, who was shot in the face by Bird during a spree at Whitehaven taxi rank which claimed the life of cabbie Darren Rewcastle.

Bird’s mother Mary, who remains seriously ill in hospital in Cockermouth, did not attend. The funeral took place amid a heavy police presence, with officers stationed around the crematorium’s grounds, including some among trees and bushes.

Family friend the Rev Jim Marshall led the 40-minute service which included hymns How Great Thou Art and Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory.

Keith Wilkinson, a close friend of Bird delivered a tribute and a ‘meditation’ taken from a card Bird’s mother received when her husband Joe, Bird’s father, died. After the service, family friend Brian Spencer read a statement on behalf of sons Graeme and Jamie.

They said: “Derrick was many things to many people, but to us he was just dad. To us he was our loving and caring family man who was well known and well respected in the local community.

“We will never understand what was going on in his mind on Wednesday, June 2 or why he killed and injured so many people. All we can say is that we are utterly devastated by his actions and truly saddened by the legacy of pain he has left behind. Our love, thoughts and sympathy are with all the families suffering at this time. We will miss our dad greatly and hope we and that with other families impacted by this crime we can somehow try to move on.”

The family of David Bird, the killer’s twin who he gunned down in his bedroom, did not attend.

In a statement they said: “We send our love and support to our grandma, auntie, uncle and cousins on this difficult day.

“As you can imagine this has been a very hard time for our family and at this present moment we do not feel physically and emotionally strong enough to attend the funeral.

“However, we would like to express our love and support to the rest of the family.”

Floral tributes spelling out ‘Dad’ and ‘Grandad’ were brought to the service, but there was no funeral cortege; Bird’s body had been taken to Distington well in advance of the service.
 

First published at 17:39, Friday, 18 June 2010
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk