The officer who led British soldiers of the Parachute Regiment in Derry on Bloody Sunday has died.

Lieutenant Colonel Derek Wilford was the officer directly in charge of the paratroopers who carried out the fatal shootings.

Thirteen civilians were shot dead when they opened fire following a civil rights march in the Bogside on January 30 1972.

Fourteen other people were injured.

The Saville Report, which vindicated the dead and injured, criticised Lt Col Wilford, saying he had ignored orders from a senior officer not to send his men deep into the Bogside.

He always maintained that his soldiers had been fired on first.

He died on Friday aged 90. He had been suffering from Parkinson's disease.

Relatives of those shot dead on Bloody Sunday said his death, whilst felt by his family, would not be mourned by the families of Derry's dead and injured.

In a statement, Tony Doherty, chairman of the Bloody Sunday Trust, whose father was killed on Bloody Sunday, said: "The passing of Derek Wilford, while felt by his family, will not be mourned by the families of the innocent men and boys whose lives were taken by armed British paratroopers on Bloody Sunday.

"Colonel Wilford lived in a constant state of denial, never once accepting any measure of responsibility for his actions on that fateful day.

"History, though, will ensure that his actions led directly to the deaths of many innocent people which, in turn, led to years of conflict and hardship for our communities.

"He left a terrible legacy and will rightly be remembered for that."

Liam Wray, who lost his brother James, 22, on Bloody Sunday, told the BBC: "For his family, I understand there'll be sorrow.

"I take no delight in his death, but I'll not be shedding any tears either."

A 12-year inquiry established by the British Government, and which reported in 2010, found that none of the casualties were posing a threat or doing anything that would justify their shooting.

The then-British Prime Minister David Cameron apologised for the fatal shootings, describing them as "unjustified and unjustifiable".

One former paratrooper is currently before the courts charged with two murders and five attempted murders arising from the events of the day.

Additional reporting: PA