Two charged in hunt for fugitive Moat

Two men arrested in connection with the hunt for Raoul Moat are in court later charged with conspiracy to commit murder and possessing a firearm with intent.

Northumbria Police said Karl Ness, 26, from Dudley in North Tyneside, and Qhuram Awan, 23, from Blyth in Northumberland, will appear at Newcastle Magistrates Court.

They were both detained on Tuesday after being found walking in Rothbury, Northumberland, the area where the intensive police search for Moat, 37, has now entered its sixth day.

Detectives had feared Moat kidnapped two men after allegedly shooting his ex-partner and killing her new lover. But Ness and Awan were eventually arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder.

Moat is believed to be holed up in the remote countryside surrounding the village, where scores of highly-trained officers on the ground, dog teams and helicopters are combing through the countryside.

The suspect is facing more appeals to give himself up, while his mother said she thinks her son would be "better off dead".

Search activity in the Rothbury area intensified overnight as dozens of armed police officers escorted a man who knows Moat near where it is believed the suspect had been hiding out.

It is understood the man, who was wearing a flak jacket and has not previously been involved in the case, was helping officers look at places Moat has previously used.

Police have stepped up efforts to track down the alleged gunman, drafting in snipers from Scotland Yard and a fleet of armoured off-road cars. A £10,000 reward for help in finding him has also been offered.

Detectives revealed they found Moat's moorland hideout, along with a letter written to his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart, at Wagtail Farm, Rothbury.