Five years since events that gripped the country

It is five years sincw Raoul Moat began his murderous rampage.

Five years ago Raoul Moat began a bloody rampage sparking one of the biggest police manhunts in years.

What was the background to the Raoul Moat manhunt?Newly released from jail, the 37-year-old ex-bouncer went after his formergirlfriend Samatha Stobbart and her new lover Chris Brown, 29, and shot them both, killing Mr Brown who he wrongly thought was a policeman. Moat later claimed he had heard them laughing about him as he listened through an open window at Samantha's neighbours' house in Birtley, Gateshead.

Samantha Stobbart was shot by her former boyfriend Raoul Moat.

Police held a news conference and were on alert to find him when he picked out unarmed Pc David Rathband on a roundabout by the A1 in Newcastle and shot him twice.

The officer survived but lost his sight.

PC David Rathband was left blinded by Raoul Moat.

How big was the manhunt?The major operation to find the country's most wanted man, who had declared war on police in a 999 call moments before he shot Pc Rathband, was one of the UK's biggest in recent history.Across the North East there were raids and suspected sightings in the following days until armed officers swooped on the quiet, picturesque town of Rothbury, Northumberland.

Police officers search the area near North Riding Farm, Northumberland. Credit: Danny Lawson/PA Archive/Press Association Images
Armed police stand outside Rothbury Bakery the manhunt continued. Credit: Dave Thompson/PA Archive/Press Association Images

Northumbria Police called in for support from six other forces and even gothelp from survival expert Ray Mears and a RAF Tornado jet with an infra-red camera to help the search.

In the early evening on July 9, amid a flurry of activity, locals became awarea major operation was under way. Moat had been surrounded by armed police close to the River Coquet and was holding a shotgun to his head.

The spot where Raoul Moat took his own life after a six hour stand off with armed police. Credit: Chris Radburn/PA Wire

What happened next?Police negotiators tried to get him to surrender, but Moat was adamant he would not go back to jail.

In the early hours of July 10, in teeming rain, he shot himself in the head.

Armed police had fired Tasers to try to stop him, but the attempt failed.

Britian's biggest manhunt for a generation had ended with Moat's death, but the events of those days shattered many other lives.

Not least for the families of Chris Brown and PC David Rathband, who would kill himself at his home in Blyth, Northumberland, in February 2012.