A TEENAGE girl today told an inquest how a man was shot dead as he grappled with a police officer.

The witness described how she saw Colin Berry take out a gun and was holding it after police burst into his house, in Buckingham Crescent, Clayton, Bradford, on April 4, 2013.

The girl, giving evidence by video link, said Mr Berry pushed her behind him and stood to face the police.

She said officers entered the room where he was and Mr Berry put the gun in the waistband at the back of his shorts and held his arms up in surrender.

She said Mr Berry reached back and one of the officers said he had a weapon and tried to tackle him.

"That's when the smaller officer decided he'd push against him (Mr Berry) and reached for it (the gun)," she told the Bradford hearing.

She said she did not have a clear view, but the police officer pushed Mr Berry who fell back.

The girl added: "The gun went off, and the officer got off from on top of him. He had something in his hand. I think that was the gun, but I'm not sure."

Asked where the gun was, the teenager replied: "I think they both had a grip of it. Mr Berry had the trigger and the handle and the officer had the barrel."

She said the gunshot was muffled and sounded like a pop.

The girl later said her recollection of the incident was not clear and she was doubting the details.

The inquest jury has been told that eight unarmed officers raided Mr Berry's home, which they suspected contained a cannabis farm. A cache of weapons was seized from the property, among them a dozen firearms, including pistols, revolvers, rifles, ammunition and imitation guns. Police also found drugs on the premises, but there was no evidence of a cannabis farm.

Mr Berry's wife, Janette, also giving evidence by video link yesterday, said he was very paranoid about authority and the public in general. Many of the windows of the house were covered, in some cases with tinfoil, to prevent people looking in, and he had his children taken out of school.

Mrs Berry said her husband had a sophisticated camera system at the house but he took it apart because he thought someone had taken it over.

She said he thought he was being individually targeted by the authorities, and hoarded salt and other items because he thought there would be a collapse of the monetary system.

Mrs Berry said the family was thousands of pounds in debt for gas, electricity and water.

She said she did not know anything about a revolver in his room.

Mrs Berry added: "He did collect a lot of replicas. He bought a lot from ebay years ago. He had blank-firing ones, but none of them to me were real guns."

The inquest has been told that the 49-year-old father-of-three was pronounced dead at the scene after suffering a single gunshot wound to the head.

The hearing continues.