Police said today they had found a man fitting the description of suspected gunman Raoul Moat in the rural town of Rothbury and were negotiating with him.
Live television pictures showed intense police activity in the remote market town. Residents, some of them clearly terrified, have been told to stay in their houses and lock their doors.
Northumbria police said in a statement the man "had been located in the riverbank area in the vicinity of the town," and were negotiating with him. They said no one had been arrested in the incident so far.
Eye witnesses told television crews police marksmen had the man pinned down on the riverbank. One resident told BBC television the man was holding a sawn-off shotgun underneath his chin.
Mr Moat, who is suspected of shooting three people including a policeman in and around the city of Newcastle last weekend, has been the subject of a massive manhunt. He has been on the run for seven days.
Mr Moat is suspected of shooting his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart (22), and killing her boyfriend, Chris Brown (20), early on Saturday morning at her mother's home in Gateshead.
Police say he then shot and critically injured PC David Rathband (42), as he sat in a patrol car a few miles away at East Denton, Newcastle.
In a letter found at his abandoned campsite close to the town earlier this week, Mr Moat reiterated his belief her new partner had been a police officer. Police have stressed this was untrue.
In a separate letter to Northumbria police and published by the Sun newspaper on Tuesday, Mr Moat blamed police for wrecking his life and destroying his relationship with Ms Stobbart.
Chief Superintendent Mark Dennett of Northumbria Police tonight warned residents of the town of Rothbury to “stay inside for your own safety” as the major police operation got under way.
Earlier, police said they had found three of Mr Moat's mobile phones.
Police also arrested a man and a woman in Blyth, Northumberland, yesterday afternoon on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Det Chief Supt Neil Adamson, leading the investigation, 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.”
Police released pictures today of camping gear Mr Moat was using to hide in his woodland lair. The pictures show a duvet, tent and sleeping bag that were found in a secluded area on land at Wagtail Farm, on the outskirts of Rothbury.
Two men arrested in Rothbury on Wednesday night on suspicion of assisting an offender were bailed last night, Northumbria Police said.
Two other alleged accomplices, Karl Ness and Qhuram Awan, appeared before magistrates yesterday accused of being part of Moat’s conspiracy to hunt down and kill policemen. They were remanded in custody.
Chief Superintendent Dennett, area commander, said there was no new specific threat against any individual and Moat’s main grievance was still thought to be against the police. But he asked for people to be extra vigilant.
He said: “What I am saying to people . . . ‘Northumberland is a beautiful place, go out, enjoy it but be vigilant’. The overriding message is that if it isn’t necessary, don’t do it.”
Around 300 people packed a public meeting in Rothbury last night, in which police tried to allay fears about the search operation.
Police released CCTV images of Moat captured at a branch of B&Q in Newcastle last Friday, hours before he allegedly shot his ex-girlfriend and killed her new lover.
Rothbury remains at the centre of the huge manhunt for Moat, thought to be armed with one or two weapons and a stockpile of ammunition, as armed police search remote buildings and scour moorland. The fugitive has vowed not to stop killing “till I’m dead” in a letter to Northumbria Police, who he blames for the loss of his children, girlfriend and liberty.
Mr Ness (26), from Dudley, north Tyneside, and Mr Awan (23), from Blyth in Northumberland, appeared at Newcastle Magistrates Court accused of conspiracy to commit murder and possessing a firearm with intent.
Mr Ness was allegedly with Moat when he shot former girlfriend Samantha Stobbart and killed her new partner, Chris Brown, in the Scafell area of Birtley, Gateshead, early on Saturday.
The next day Moat allegedly shot and seriously injured police officer David Rathband as he sat in his patrol car at a roundabout.
The two men are accused of being with Moat when the officer was shot and of helping him look for police targets. They were remanded in custody to appear before Newcastle Crown Court on July 22nd.
PA