Armed police hunting for Raoul Moat have descended on a stately home near Rothbury after finding three of the fugitive’s mobile phones.
Cragside House, which lies on the outskirts of the village, was closed to the public as dozens of armed officers with dogs swarmed around the property, guarding the entrances and a helicopter hovered overhead.
Cragside is a large Victorian, Tudor-style National Trust mansion built by the inventor Lord Armstrong. It is surrounded by woodland popular with walkers.
Officers also revealed they have arrested a man and a woman in Blyth, Northumberland, on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Detective Chief Superintendent Neil Adamson said: “There have been some very positive developments over the past 24 hours. I am certain that these phones were all used by Mr Moat.”
The first handset was found in Birtley in the early hours of Saturday morning at the scene where Moat’s ex-lover, Samantha Stobbart, and her new boyfriend, Chris Brown, were shot. A second phone, used to make the two 999 calls to police before and after PC David Rathband was shot early on Sunday, has also been recovered – although police would not say from where or when.
The third was discovered on Thursday by a member of the public who was out walking in open land around Rothbury. Police said it had not been used by the gunman since the recovery of the two alleged hostages, Karl Ness and Qhuram Awan, on Tuesday. Both have since appeared in court charged with conspiracy to murder.
Police know where and when the second and third phones were bought but will not release this information at the moment.
Mr Adamson said: “We have recovered valuable information from them and are pursuing numerous leads in connection with this information. This shows the vital role the public are playing in this inquiry and I would urge anyone with information to contact Northumbria Police or Crimestoppers.”
Meanwhile, two men arrested in the Rothbury area around teatime on Wednesday on suspicion of assisting an offender were released on police bail pending further inquiries.
Be the first to comment