Piercing screams, then silence: How crossbow killer terrorised quiet cul-de-sac by slaying his ex-girlfriend, her sister and her mother after a 'messy breakup' before seemingly shooting himself in a cemetery following huge police manhunt

It was a country of unimaginable fearfulness that near adjacent hardened detectives shaken. A defenceless parent and her 2 daughters tied up successful their ain location and changeable dormant with a 3ft-long crossbow successful a bloody rampage.

Around 6.30pm connected Tuesday, neighbours of a £800,000 suburban location successful a quiescent cul-de-sac successful Bushey, Hertfordshire, heard piercing screams which were initially mistaken for that of a distressed child.

Later they were to realise that it was a woman's hopeless cries for assistance coming from the location wherever Louise Hunt, 25, her sister Hannah, 28, and parent Carol, 61, were ambushed by a crossbow-wielding killer.

Soon aft the screams fell silent, the assailant fled the property, by which clip the constabulary had been alerted and were connected their way.

It is believed that connected uncovering his woman and daughters fatally wounded, officers were capable to interaction BBC equine racing commentator John Hunt, a dependable known to millions, who was returning from moving astatine Lingfield Park course.

Although constabulary and ambulance had rushed to the house, they were incapable to prevention the 3 victims who died astatine the scene.

But it wasn't agelong earlier detectives were connected the way of a fishy aft a fig was seen darting retired of an alleyway straight down the execution scene. Clad successful black, the antheral was captured connected camera calmly striding distant with what appeared to beryllium a crossbow tucked nether his limb hidden beneath a achromatic sheet.

Footage from a adjacent doorcam showed the bearded fig carrying a dense bag, which constabulary feared whitethorn beryllium a cache of weapons helium utilized to transportation retired the brutal attack.

Chillingly, helium passed wrong feet of a pistillate neighbour, who stood unsocial connected her driveway stroking a feline and seemed startled by the show of the hardly concealed limb astatine 6.50pm.

Within hours, a nationalist manhunt was nether mode for erstwhile worker Kyle Clifford, who was named by constabulary successful a highly antithetic step. The 26-year-old had antecedently served successful the Queen's Dragoon Guards for a abbreviated clip earlier dropping retired having failed to impressment superiors, it was said past night.

Yesterday neighbours revealed that Clifford had been successful a narration with the Hunts' youngest daughter, Louise, but she divided up with him a week ago.

Their parting is said to person near her truthful shaken that she precocious crashed her car into a telegraph rod extracurricular the household home.

Neighbour Glyn Nicholas, 77, said: 'Louise was a precise bully girl. She ran a canine grooming concern from the house. I heard that she divided from a fellow past week and was precise upset astir it.

'A person of Louise's told maine that her car doorway had caved successful due to the fact that of the crash.'

He added: 'Carol was a nice, polite and quiescent lady. She was astatine location a batch of the time.

'They were each precise nice, a backstage family. They each did their ain things. Louise started a concern a mates of years ago, and it was a thriving concern – we each took our dogs determination to beryllium groomed.

'A precise close-knit household and they utilized to emotion the street. They'd had a batch of enactment done connected their location implicit the years.'

Mrs Hunt, a parent of three, had precocious told friends astatine her section gym that her youngest girl was progressive successful a 'messy break-up' with her boyfriend.

One suggested her daughter's narration had turned nasty.

A person said: 'She said her daughter's divided with her fellow was messy. Carol did not spell into excessively overmuch detail, but you could spot she was concerned.'

Police yesterday warned the nationalist not to attack the suspect, who was past seen driving disconnected from the cul-de sac successful a grey conveyance the erstwhile evening.

One neighbour said 'absolute chaos' broke retired arsenic equipped constabulary arrived. She said: 'It was betwixt 6.30pm and 7pm and it sounded similar kids, idiosyncratic screaming, and past it was much shrill and I was like, 'That's decidedly a pistillate screaming', and wrong 15 minutes, it was implicit chaos.

'We had equipped constabulary moving down, screaming, 'Stay successful your house'... they unopen america disconnected and fundamentally enactment america into lockdown.' Police searches predominantly focused yesterday connected Hertfordshire and North London due to the fact that the constabulary did not judge their fishy had the clip to get overmuch further.

Passengers arriving astatine London Victoria railway presumption during the greeting unreserved hour, earlier quality of the calamity became public, recovered their exit slowed arsenic they were unusually marshalled done the barriers, allowing ranks of constabulary connected the other broadside to scan the crowd, checking each face.

Later, section schools were enactment into lockdown erstwhile equipped constabulary raided the suspect's location successful Enfield, North London, immoderate 14 miles from the transgression scene.

One parent said: 'They had cordoned disconnected the roadworthy and were ushering radical distant from the location they were going into. They had the afloat protective cogwheel on, guns, shields and helmets – the benignant you'd expect to spot successful riots.'

Dozens of officers from Scotland Yard and Hertfordshire Police flooded the country a abbreviated clip aboriginal aft uncovering Clifford's abandoned car. But wrong hours, the hunt had moved to a adjacent cemetery conscionable a fewer minutes' locomotion away. The erstwhile information defender was aboriginal recovered with self-inflicted injuries astatine Lavender Hill Cemetery conscionable aft 4.30pm aft seemingly shooting himself with the crossbow.

In a burst of aggravated activity, equipped constabulary closed down the cemetery, arsenic eyewitnesses saw paramedics moving into the grounds.

Rae Cresswell, 26, a section who filmed the commotion, said: 'I saw astir 10 officers coming in. I was rather disquieted due to the fact that they were equipped and determination were dogs with them.

'I asked them if they wanted maine to permission but they said it was good to stay. They started checking the country truthful I near soon aft and came backmost to spot each these vehicles.'

Around 20 minutes aboriginal Clifford was stretchered from the country and taken by ambulance to Royal London Hospital, wherever helium was receiving aesculapian attraction past night.

Police confirmed nary shots had been fired by officers and cipher other was being sought.

Mr Hunt, himself a erstwhile constabulary serviceman earlier helium took up vigor and became a much-loved property connected the equine racing circuit, was said to beryllium inconsolable past night. In a enactment to staff, the BBC said: 'The quality contiguous astir John Hunt's household is utterly devastating.

'Our thoughts are with John and his household astatine this incredibly hard clip and we volition supply him with each the enactment we can.'

Julie Harrington, main enforcement of the British Horseracing Authority, said: 'The thoughts of everyone astatine the BHA are with John Hunt, his household and friends. It is intolerable to comprehend the fearfulness that has been inflicted upon them by this dreadful event.

'John is simply a large person to galore successful our athletics and I americium definite that successful this clip of unimaginable grief for him, the racing household volition rally astir arsenic we person seen galore times earlier erstwhile 1 of our fig is faced with large trauma.'

Last nighttime neighbours and friends continued to laic flowers astatine the scene. One friend, Su Kehinde, 60, who lives nearby, said she would retrieve them arsenic 'beautiful souls'. She said: 'They were the loveliest, gentlest family. They did not merit this. They were beauteous souls.'

Her girl April, 32, said that Hannah, who worked adjacent arsenic a beautician, 'always had a smile'.

She added: 'She was hard-working, a hard grafter and truly gentle.'

Six years ago, Clifford's older member was convicted of execution aft a proceedings astatine the Old Bailey.

Bradley Clifford, a plumber, was 23 erstwhile helium mowed down Soban Khan, 18, and Jahshua Francis, 19, connected their moped aft they struck his 'prized' Ford Mustang car with a bottle.

Both teenagers were flung from the moped by the impact, and Bradley Clifford bushed Mr Khan arsenic helium laic connected the crushed injured.

The incidental followed a enactment extracurricular a barroom successful Enfield successful which Clifford's car received superficial damage. He flew into a rage and pursued the brace successful a 20-minute precocious velocity pursuit earlier crashing into the moped.

Clifford was jailed for beingness and told to service astatine slightest 23 years for the execution of Mr Khan and attempted GBH with intent connected Mr Francis.