A MAN who slaughtered his young family with a shotgun before committing suicide had his gun licence application okayed by his GP despite a history of mental illness.

Fourteen years after receiving the go-ahead to possess a shotgun, suicidal Peter Denyer, 50, massacred his wife and two children in an horrific shooting rampage before turning the weapon on himself.

Described as an act of 'unspeakable evil', heating engineer Denyer killed wife Lisa, 33, their daughter Rhianna, 10, and son Ben, eight, at their home in Carlyon Avenue, South Harrow.

Police were called just before 11am on May 6 this year after a friend of Mrs Denyer, who was due for work at a nearby Sainsbury's store, failed to get a reply on the phone or at the door.

Mrs Denyer's father, Ben Dyer, opened the door with his key and fled screaming 'Oh no, oh my God,' after spotting his blood-stained grandson. Little Ben had been shot in the back.

At an inquest at Hornsey Coroner's Court on Friday last week, retired Detective Chief Inspector Tony Holbert of Scotland Yard's Serious Crime Group said Mrs Denyer was shot in the hip as she ran upstairs. She was then killed execution-style with a blast to the head as she lay bleeding. In the rear bedroom, Rhianna's body was found under her duvet after suffering a point blank shot to the chest. Her brother Ben had also been shot in bed but had struggled downstairs with a leg wound before being killed.

Despite a history of mental illness and psychiatrists diagnosing Mr Denyer as prone to 'outbursts of irrational behaviour', his GP approved a shotgun licence application in 1986.

On April 29, a few days before the tragic events unfolded, Mr Denyer told doctors at North Middlesex Hospital that he had overdosed on insulin. However he discharged himself, ignoring recommendations to see a psychiatrist. He had been a troubled youngster who was treated at Edgware Hospital at the age of 13 for behavioural problems.

Since the shooting friends have revealed that his wife had asked for a divorce and Mr Denyer was hunting for a flat nearby.

Coroner Dr William Dolman recorded verdicts of unlawful killing for Mrs Denyer and the children and ruled Mr Denyer killed himself. Mr Dyer and other members of Lisa's family were in court.