One of Britain's biggest ever manhunts ended dramatically yesterday when fugitive gunman Raoul Moat shot himself dead after a six-hour stand-off with heavily armed police.

After seven days on the run during which he apparently shot and wounded his ex-girlfriend, killed her new partner and injured a policeman, armed police surrounded Moat in the village of Rothbury in northeast England.

The 37-year-old had been spotted last Friday walking along a river on the edge of the picturesque village, which has been the focus of the massive search.

Armed officers cornered the former nightclub bouncer and father of three children in a field amid scenes of panic as local residents were told to stay inside their homes and lock their doors.

As rain fell, specially trained negotiators tried for hours to persuade Moat to lay down the gun he was carrying, but he shot himself at 2.15 a.m.

Police said officers did not fire their guns, although it emerged later that a Taser stun gun was fired at the fugitive during the standoff, although it was unclear when the weapon was used.

Moat was pronounced dead in hospital at 2.20 a.m.

In a news conference, Sue Sim, the temporary chief of Northumbria Police, described how the standoff had unfolded.

"Negotiators were brought in to speak to him. For several hours negotiators were working to apprehend him safely," she said.

"At around 1.15 a.m., from information available at that time, it appears the suspect shot himself. It appears no gunshots were fired by police officers.

"Right up until that time, police officers were striving to persuade Mr Moat to give himself up peacefully.

"During this time, officers discharged Taser, however, this did not prevent his death."

An owner of a local guesthouse, who declined to be named, told the BBC he overheard some of the conversation between Moat and the negotiators before he turned his gun on himself.

"He actually said, the one thing that sticks in my mind, 'I haven't got a dad'... and he also said that, 'nobody cares about me'."

Police said because they had been in contact with Moat prior to his death, the incident has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) for investigation.

The IPCC was already probing why police failed to heed warnings from prison authorities that Moat would pose a potential threat to his former partner when he was released after serving an 18-week sentence for assault.

Soon after leaving prison, Moat shot and wounded the former partner, Samantha Stobbart, who is also the mother of one his children, killed her boyfriend, and shot and seriously injured a policeman in the Newcastle area.

Moat told police he had a grudge against them, apparently fuelled by the fact that Stobbart had lied to him that she was dating a policeman, in a bid to persuade him to stay away from her.

Police said the level of the threat to the wider public was revealed when they found camping equipment Moat had used near Rothbury.