A CHESTER family are counting their blessings after a last-minute decision meant they did not go to Whitehaven on the day of gunman Derrick Bird’s killing spree.

By choosing to enjoy a day out in Ullswater instead, the family avoided being caught up in the deadly rampage on Wednesday last week which left 12 people dead and 11 injured.

Leanne Hambleton took her two daughters – nine-year-old Lauren and 15-week-old Grace – on a relaxing break to nearby St Bees, accompanied by her fiance Stephen Andrews and his parents.

On the Wednesday, the couple decided against a shopping trip to Whitehaven in favour of a boat ride in Ullswater. Leanne, 27, a teacher at The Firs School in Chester, said: “Stephen’s mum, Sheila, had suggested we visit a baby shop in Whitehaven that she had seen the day before, to look at some baby clothes for Grace.

“We had already been to Whitehaven the day before and took the little ones swimming so we stuck with going to Ullswater.”

The couple heard about the tragedy just after boarding the boat, when Sheila phoned her son and told him what was happening. At that point, Derrick Bird was still at large and people were being advised to stay indoors.

Unknown to Leanne, they had set off for Ullswater at around the same time that Derrick Bird was roaming the Cumbrian countryside, shooting innocent passers-by and motorists at random.

“About 20 police cars zoomed past us when we were on our way to Ullswater,” Leanne said.

“We knew that something major had happened, but we never thought it would be something like that. Lauren was a bit frightened, too – we had only just got in the boat when we heard and she just wanted to go home.

“It was 4-5pm when we got back to the caravan park, it was quite scary because we were just thinking, what if?”

In the following days, Leanne said the atmosphere in the area had completely changed.

“It was horrible. People were still very much in shock. The police and press were everywhere but the thing that I remember is that when we visited Whitehaven the day before, it was sunny and nice.

“It is quite scary because we had even been in Duke Street where one of the shootings took place.

“When we drove through on the way home it was raining and dull. It really reflected what had happened because you realised the severity of it all.

“Thank goodness we decided to go to Ullswater that day – or it could have been us.”