Ray Mears assisted Raoul Moat manhunt

Survival expert and broadcaster Ray Mears assisted the police search for fugitive gunman Raoul Moat in Northumberland, it has emerged.

Yesterday, a Northumbria police spokeswoman confirmed that Mears was enlisted to help in the manhunt, but gave no details about his exact contribution.

"We can confirm Ray Mears did assist in this investigation, as did several other agencies and specialists," she said.

The 46-year-old Mears, who has presented various BBC survival programmes and is author of the Outdoor Survival Handbook, is thought to have helped police track Moat after he left a makeshift camp near the village of Rothbury.

However, the involvement of Mears in the manhunt is likely to attract controversy as the police are already facing criticism for their handling of the case.

Earlier in the month, Moat declared "war" on the police after shooting his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart and murdering her boyfriend Chris Brown.

He went on to shoot PC David Rathband in the face, leading to the UK's biggest manhunt in recent history which eventually resulted in Moat shooting himself after a six-hour standoff with police.