Retired detective remembers manhunt for 'deranged' fugitive Raoul Moat

The Hunt for Raoul Moat focuses on the work of former Northumbria Police detective Neil Adamson, right, in tracking Moat down in 2010. Credit: NCJ Media

A retired detective has been reflecting on the part he played in the search for "deranged" fugitive Raoul Moat in 2010.

Neil Adamson was the head of CID at Northumbria Police in 2010 during the hunt for Moat, who shot three people and threatened to kill police officers.

The story has been turned into an ITV drama, The Hunt for Raoul Moat, which is due to air on Sunday 16 April.

Adamson says it was inevitable that the manhunt would be dramatised for television. He said: "The circumstances were so unique. It was so dramatic and so awful.

"I have dealt with many murders and looked for people before, but never have we had an individual as deranged as him ringing the police and saying 'I'm hunting for your officers now'."

On Saturday, July 3, 2010, Moat began his shooting spree in Birtley, Gateshead.

Just two days after his release from prison, the 37-year-old was waiting for his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart and her new boyfriend Christopher Brown as they left a neighbour’s home in the early hours of the morning.

He shot Christopher twice, killing him instantly, before turning the gun on 22-year-old Samantha who was left critically injured

Less than 24 hours later, Moat shot PC David Rathband in the face as he sat in his patrol car in Newcastle's West End.

He remained on the run for a week, before eventually shooting himself after a stand-off with armed police in Rothbury, Northumberland.

Lee Ingleby will be playing Detective Chief Supt Neil Adamson in the ITV drama The Hunt for Raoul Moat. Credit: ITV

The Hunt for Raoul Moat is written by Kevin Sampson, who penned the critically-acclaimed Hillsborough disaster drama Anne. Neil worked with Kevin as he researched the case for his script.

In the adaptation, Adamson is played by Inspector George Gently star Lee Ingleby.

He said: "I had a lengthy chat with Lee Ingleby beforehand. He was very interested in the story, but also how it impacted on me as an individual at the time.

"He wanted to get across the stress and the pressure. I gave him an outline of the role, and my responsibilities at the time. Obviously it's been dramatized and I'm an amalgamation of lots of people that do different things.

"We all had our roles and responsibilities. There were the firearms commands, the investigation side, the covert side and the community sides. Everyone has roles to play, but the drama is told through the eyes of me."

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