The taxi driver who drove the British teenager to the dance studio in Southport where he murdered three young girls told an inquiry he should have called police sooner.

Gary Poland said he drove away from the dance centre in the northern town of in blind panic and regretted waiting 50 minutes until calling police, the BBC reports.

Axel Rudakubana, 19, was jailed earlier this year to at least 52 years for killing the girls and stabbing 10 others last July.

Poland had believed loud bangs he had heard moments after dropping off Rudakubana were "gunshots", the inquiry heard overnight.

The taxi driver heard screaming and his vehicle dashcam recorded girls running from the venue.

"I should have called the police earlier," Poland told the inquiry, via video link.

"In hindsight I wish

See Full Page