Manhunt: The Raoul Moat Story
DOCUMENTARY ITV HD, 9pm
The story of Raoul Moat, who went on the run in the north-east of England after a two-day shooting spree in 2010.
A DECADE AGO, in July 2010, one of the biggest police manhunts in recent British history began after Newcastle bouncer Raoul Moat vanished following a horrific
double shooting.
Just days earlier, Moat had been released from Durham Prison, where he had been serving a sentence for assault, and he was hell-bent on revenge.
The 37-year-old already had a long-held grudge against the police, who he thought were victimising him, but he was also furious
that his ex, Samantha Stobbart, had a new boyfriend, Chris Brown, who Moat wrongly believed was a police officer.
Armed with a sawn-off shotgun, Moat tracked down the couple in Gateshead, and shot Chris dead and left Samantha wounded. Manhunt: The Raoul Moat Story, presented by Nicky Campbell, revisits these shocking events.
‘Moat was an incredibly dangerous man,’ says Neil Adamson, who was head of Northumbria Police CID at the time and helped lead the hunt. ‘The absolute priority was to locate him and neutralise the threat.’
HARROWING
The documentary takes a day-byday look at the search for Moat, which involved police forces from across the country, and took an alarming turn the day after the double shooting when Moat shot traffic officer PC David Rathband in the face, blinding him.
‘That sent shock waves through the force,’ admits Adamson. ‘The threat level to our staff was through
the roof.’
It became clear
Moat was hiding out in Rothbury, Northumberland, and the rural market town was placed under police lockdown. But, for several days, the killer evaded capture.
Finally, with the help of TV survivalist Ray Mears, almost a week after the hunt began, armed police located Moat beside a river and a stand-off ensued.
Then, in a truly surreal twist, former footballer Paul Gascoigne, who was struggling with addiction, arrived at the scene offering to help and talk to his ‘friend’ Moat, before being turned away.
But as negotiations reached a climax, Moat shot himself dead.
‘Moat should have faced justice.
But he wanted to bring this to an end,’ says Adamson, who feels the investigation was one of the most arduous of his career.
‘The threat posed a challenge
I hope I never have to face again. It’s a week I will never forget.’