Hungerford PC found dead

A FORMER policeman commended for bravery during the Hungerford massacre, who later turned to drink and robbed a building society, has been found dead in a fume-filled car, writes James Cusick.

Christopher Larkin was one of the first officers on the scene in Hungerford, Berkshire, in August 1987, when Michael Ryan shot 16 people dead before turning the gun on himself. Like many officers involved with the massacre, Mr Larkin developed severe psychological problems. He left the police force in 1988.

His body was found at the end of January in a parked car near Irchester, Northamptonshire. At an inquest, opened last month, his death was recorded as caused by carbon monoxide poisoning.

The full impact of what Mr Larkin - then a 23-year-old constable - witnessed at Hungerford, and the effectiveness of the counselling he was offered, will be investigated.

Former colleagues of Mr Larkin in the Thames Valley force said yesterday that senior officers had suspected he was suffering from a personality disorder even before the massacre. Three weeks after it, he was caught drink-driving and banned for a year.

Mr Larkin left the police in 1988 after nine years' service. Two years later, he robbed the Wokingham branch of Newbury Building Society of pounds 2,200. He was sentenced to six years in jail, but an appeal cut that to four years.