The taxi driver who drove Southport killer Axel Rudakubana to the Taylor Swift dance class where he murdered three young girls has admitted he panicked and sped away - before picking up another fare. Gary Poland, 56, today appeared via video link at the Southport public inquiry investigating the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, in July last year. Ten others – eight girls and two adults – were also gravely injured.

Mr Poland said he thought he heard four or five loud bangs after dropping off Axel Rudakubana, 18, who admitted murder at a trial earlier this year, and assumed he was an active gunman. He called his 'best mate' and took another fare before eventually calling 999 some 50 minutes later.

In a statement to police after the attack, Mr Poland described the screaming coming from the dance studio as “the most awful sound” and the girls who fled as running “like a stampede for their lives.”

He said that, with hindsight, he wished he had stopped to help the girls but claimed he was “in complete mortal terror and shock.”

He added: “I did what I did through fear, shock and panic. These are human emotions which I couldn't control. I regret not helping the children, their screams were harrowing.

“I cannot imagine what the victims and their families have been through and they have my deepest sympathies. There is not a day passes I do not think about that day and the what ifs.

“What if I had called the police? What if I had got out of the car? What if I had apprehended him for not paying the fare?

“I accept I could have done more, but I believe my actions as a taxi driver were fit and proper. This was a tragic event that should never have happened.”

The inquiry heard Mr Poland, who worked for One Call Taxis, picked up Rudakubana from his home, in Banks, a village around five miles from the seaside town, around 11.30am on July 29 last year.

The then 17-year-old, who used the fake name 'Simon' to book the cab, was wearing a Covid-style face mask and distinctive green hoodie, with the hood pulled up.

Mr Poland, who has been a cab driver for 27 years, said Rudakubana barely spoke during the journey but this didn't raise any concern as he regularly picked up people who preferred to wear masks and assumed he was a carer who was going to pick up his car from the garage next door to the scene of the attack - the Hart Space.

But when the taxi pulled up outside the dance studio, Rudakubana got out without paying prompting Mr Poland to remonstrate with him, before the killer walked off to the studio..

The inquiry heard that sounds of distress were captured on Mr Poland's dashcam just 29 seconds later.

Mr Poland said: “I was waiting for my money. I thought I would give him a minute or two, which I did, then I heard all the screams.”

Nicholas Moss, counsel for the inquiry, said: “You then heard four or five loud bangs, which you thought were gun shots?”

Mr Poland replied: “Yes, I thought there were four or five gun shots at the time.”

Mr Moss said: “You heard loud screams?”

“Yes,” Mr Poland said. “I just thought someone was shooting. I thought, ‘Oh no,’ that's when I went into panic mode.”

Mr Poland said he drove away and immediately called his best friend of 40 years, Julian Medlock, who worked at the garage next door, worried for his pal’s safety.

He then took another fare before calling the office of One Call Taxis to confirm the address where he had picked Rudakubana from.

Mr Poland then went home and, after discussing events with his wife, Lynn, finally called police at 12.36pm.

He said he had suffered psychological problems since the attack and no longer picked up fares or people that he didn't know.

He added: “I can't sleep at night. I shut my eyes and I see his face, it's there all the time in my head. I haven’t got a clue where he was hiding a knife.

“If I thought he had a knife, things would have been different. If I had thought he had a knife I would have got out and disarmed him.”

The inquiry was shown Mr Poland's police statement which he made on the evening of July 29, around six hours after the attack.

“An orchestra of blood curdling screams filled the air,” he told police. “Scream after scream pierced my ears, the screams sounded like a mix of young and old, male and female. This was terrifying, I was in a state of complete mortal terror and shock.

“I then saw a massed huddle of children, aged approximately six or seven years old, stumble and run in a panicked hurry out of 34a Hart St. They were screaming, it was like a stampede for their lives.”

In their opening statement last week, families of the murdered girls raised concerns about the actions of Mr Poland.

Their lawyer told the inquiry, sitting at Liverpool Town Hall, that it must evaluate whether he had a moral responsibility to take 'protective action' and dial 999 sooner.

The hearings have been told that teacher Leanne Lucas, who organised the event, made the first call to police, around 27 seconds after screams could be heard on Mr Poland's dashcam.

Mr Moss said that, even if the cab driver had dialled 999, it would not likely have resulted in police officers and paramedics arriving at the scene any quicker.

In their opening statement last week, families of the murdered girls raised concerns about the actions of Mr Poland.

Their lawyer told the inquiry, sitting at Liverpool Town Hall, that it must evaluate whether he had a moral responsibility to take 'protective action' and dial 999.

The inquiry, due to last until November, continues.