10:50am Thursday 12th June 2003
By Rachel Sharp
A MENTALLY ill man who was shot dead in West Drayton by police was due to see mental health services on the day he died.
Keith Larkins, 33, who was armed with a replica handgun, was shot after he fired blanks at armed Heathrow policemen near Saxon Way at about 4.30pm on Friday.
His mother, Maureen Larkins, who lives in West Drayton, told the Evening Standard she had been trying to get her son seen by social services for months.
She was quoted as saying: "I don't blame the police for what they did. It's the health authorities at fault. We tried to get help. Had they acknowledged that Keith was ill, this never would have happened."
Mr Larkins had been under the care of the West London Mental Health Trust and Hounslow Social Services. He was due for a home visit on the day he died.
In a joint statement the West London Mental Health Trust and the London Borough of Hounslow said: "He [Mr Larkins] was seen by a member of staff at the end of May but failed to keep an appointment a week later.
"Tragically a home appointment for the next day, on June 6, was the day of his death.
"This is a very upsetting incident for everyone concerned and every sympathy goes out to his family.
"We will be doing everything possible to understand what led to this happening."
A spokesman for the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), which is undertaking an investigation into the incident, said a dog handler, who was parked on Saxon Way about half-a-mile from Heathrow airport, pulled over the driver of a VW Golf that was in a poor state of repair.
He explained the driver initially stopped but then drove off and collided with a bicycle being pushed by a pedestrian. The driver then stopped the car and pointed his gun at the officer and fired.
The PCA spokesman added: "Armed officers from Heathrow police arrived at the scene and got out of their vehicle. The man gained access to a police vehicle and drove off.
"He then stopped and got out of the vehicle. It is again believed that the suspect pointed a gun at officers. He was told by police to put the gun down which he did not do. Shots were fired by police and the man suffered gunshot wounds."
Mr Larkins was pronounced dead at the scene in Accommodation Lane, West Drayton, approximately half a mile from Saxon Way.
The armed officers involved have been taken off firearms duties as is standard procedure.
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