Multiple deaths following shootings in Cumbria

Derrick Bird, 52, from Rowrah, near Frizington, was named by police, who warned all people across the popular tourist destinations to stay indoors.

A police spokesman said that a body, thought to be that of Derrick Bird had been found, although had not yet been officially identified.

''Ambulance crews are in attendance across the area.''

One witness said the gunman drove up alongside him at traffic lights by Whitehaven police station.

Alan Hannah, 68, of Great Broughton, told the Whitehaven News: ''As I turned past the police station, I saw all these officers running out and realised something major was going on so I moved over to the right-hand lane.

''Then a car pulled up on the left, stopping at the lights.

''I saw a man with a large shotgun and his windscreen was smashed. I drove through the red light to get into Lowther Street and get out of the way. I got home safely but was very shaken.''

Helen Owens, who works at solicitors' practice Brockbank, Cain and Hall on Duke Street in Whitehaven, said one of her colleagues saw a dead man on the street.

She said: ''We heard a couple of gunshots and the police running about.

''One of our secretaries was out at the time and she saw a guy lying dead on the ground covered with a sheet - she saw his trainers sticking out.

''There's police tape across it so we can't see exactly what happened but saw a policeman running across the street.

''We have also heard there was another shooting at Morrisons car park, which is about five minutes away.

''We have the door locked.

''There's a police station two minutes away, very close to it.''

At the scene in Duke Street a body was lying on the ground covered by a black sheet.

It was in the middle of a taxi rank where three cabs were parked.

The area was cordoned off by police tape and dozens of uniformed police officers were in the road telling residents to stay away.

Police issued an urgent plea for help in tracing a shaven-headed man in a dark grey or silver Citroen Picasso, registration number ND55 ZFC.

A Cumbria Police statement said: ''He (the gunman) was last seen heading south in the Central Lakes direction.

''He may have abandoned the car and be proceeding on foot. Armed police are currently working to apprehend him and advising members of the public in West and Central Lakes areas to go indoors and stay there until further notice.''

Janis Howes, 63, who also lives in Duke Street, said that she heard bangs but initially assumed it was a road accident.

She said: ''We get a lot of bumps from people having accidents coming around the corner so when I heard the noise I looked out of the window and couldn't see anything.

''Later when I went out somebody came out of a shop door and said 'you've got to get off the street'. We were stuck in Peacocks until I asked to go back home.

''You just don't expect this. I saw a body, the police had covered it up and I could see the legs. You see people who have collapsed in the street but when you realise it's a body it's not at all the same.''