Mumbling like a drunk, he shot into the garden. I screamed at him to stop

Jane Winkworth lives just below Mr Saunders and his wife Elizabeth in Markham Square and was working outside in her garden just before 5pm yesterday.

The managing director of show company French Sole said the high-flying legal couple had bought their flat about 10 months ago.

She described how the barrister had arrived home about an hour before and, according to what his wife later told police, had "been drinking all day."

Ms Winkworth said: "I was doing a spot of gardening and working on designs for shoes outside when I heard Mark come in at around 3.45pm. Around half-an-hour to 45 minutes later he shot into the garden. I began shouting and screaming at him to stop. At first I assumed he was using an airgun to shoot at pigeons but after he fired two more I realised it was a proper gun. When I screamed at him to stop, he didn't say anything, it was as though he wasn't listening.

"I ran into my flat terrified and panicking and I phoned the police."

Ms Winkworth said that after police arrived and negotiators were trying to talk to Mr Saunders, all she could hear was him replying: "I can't hear you mate."

She said: "He was definitely mumbling stuff like a drunk person would but he wasn't shouting or being aggressive apart from when he was shooting. The shots were very loud. They were absolutely terrifying."

She revealed that at about 7pm Mr Saunders threw a white box into her garden and on the lid of the box in big black letters it said: "I love my wife dearly xxx". She said the box was empty.

"Mark and Liz were very happy, very professional, very intelligent, successful and attractive people," Ms Winkworth said. "I couldn't have asked for better neighbours. I'm shocked and horrified. All I can think is he was suffering from extreme stress for him to do this. He was an absolutely lovely guy."

Ms Winkworth said she was "terrified" and "severely distressed" and was forced to remain in her flat during the siege as police and the gunman exchanged shots above her.

Sporadic bursts of gunfire culminated in armed police storming the flat at number 46, lobbing in stun grenades. Later police brought out Mr Saunders onto the pavement as medical crew tried to resuscitate him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A police spokesman confirmed that a firearm was found at the scene and that it was a legally registered weapon.

A post-mortem examination was being carried out today.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission today began an investigation into the shooting. It is the first by the Met's specialist firearms team CO19 since Jean Charles de Menezes was killed at Stockwell Tube in July 2005.

Other eyewitnesses spoke of the five-hour siege and gun battle in the square, where five-storey Georgian houses can fetch up to £10 million.

One resident, whose garden backs onto number 46, told how her home was sprayed with bullets. The woman, who did not want to be named, said: "There was a man opposite my house shooting into my daughter's bedroom. We thought they were firecrackers. He was at the window with a shotgun.

"He just kept shooting, cool as a cucumber. He even stopped to reload."

She said he opened fire on her and police after she initially heard three shots. She said: "Police ran into my house and I warned them not to stand too close to the window, but an armed officer went straight to the broken window and the gunman fired at him.

"You could see the guy directly across the way, aiming. The policeman crouched down and returned fire, but I don't think he hit him."

Jenny Morley, who lives opposite the house, was trapped inside her home. She said: "I heard shouting outside. I saw three policemen in bulletproof vests and rifles running towards the house with their guns pointing upwards. Then I heard four or five gunshots and more shouting. I was told to stay at the back of the house for safety. I'm just grateful that my children were not at home."

Jill Eresen, owner of the Harvest clothing store which backs on to the square, also heard the shots.

She said: "Armed police came in and said they needed to use our shop as a platform because it had the best view of the gardens. It was very scary."

Shopper Daniela Bravin, 17, heard six shots being fired as armed police swarmed into the area. "The police told us to run. They had shields and were going into the square. It was terrifying."

The driver of a No 11 double decker and his 25 passengers ran for their lives as police raced to the scene.

Charles Gasa, 32, said: "I was driving along King's Road just coming up to the Abbey bank on the corner of Markham Square. I could see a couple of normal police cars and then suddenly dozens more police cars started streaming into the area . Armed officers rushed out wearing bullet-proof vests and seconds later I heard some gunshots. I just ran for my life and my passengers all did the same. Everyone was completely terrified."

A resident of the area, where near-neighbours include footballers and stars such as Liz Hurley and Mick Jagger, as well as Prince William's girl-friend Kate Middleton, said: "We're all absolutely petrified. We can't believe this has happened in a place like this."

Among anxious residents watching the siege from behind a cordon was one man whose wife and children were trapped in their home adjacent to the flat. They were told to lock themselves in the lavatory for safety. The woman, who was not named, said: "I think it's going to hit me tomorrow."