Police 'closing net' on fugitive British gunman

British police yesterday said they were "closing the net" on a fugitive suspected of shooting three people, after arresting two men who were initially believed to have been taken hostage by the gunman.

Raoul Thomas Moat, 37, has been on the run for four days since allegedly shooting his ex-girlfriend, her boyfriend and a police officer in northeast England at the weekend. The boyfriend died and the others were badly injured.

Police have locked down an area in Rothbury, Northumberland, where they found Mr Moat's car and near where they picked up two men walking along a road who they believed had been held hostage since the killings.

In a dramatic twist, police announced at a press conference that the two men had been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder.

"I can confirm that both men are the people we believe were the hostages," Detective Chief Superintendent Neil Adamson told reporters, adding that police had believed the men's lives to be at "significant risk".

Mr Moat was released from jail last Thursday after serving a short sentence for assault and early on Saturday he allegedly shot his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend. Samantha Stobbart was in critical condition but is now stable and "improving", police said. The boyfriend was killed.

In the early hours of Sunday, detectives believe the father-of-three also shot and critically injured a police officer in the nearby city of Newcastle. It is thought that Mr Moat believed his ex-girlfriend had been having an affair with a police officer, but police say she has not been romantically involved with a policeman.

In a handwritten letter passed to The Sun newspaper, Moat "declared war" on the police, saying: "The public need not fear me, but the police should as I won't stop till I am dead."