Police hunting fugitive gunman Raoul Moat said today they had discovered a tent where he had been living rough, as they offered a #10,000 reward for information leading to his capture.
They said they had also found another letter from Moat at his abandoned camp near the rural town of Rothbury in Northumberland.
It emerged today police in Northern Ireland have sent 20 armoured cars to help in the search. The 4x4 Mitsubishi Shoguns were sent to England last night. The PSNI has many of the vehicles because of the terrorist threat.
At a news briefing, detectives leading the investigation said they believed Moat (37), who has been on the run since Saturday, was still in the area. Moat is suspected of shooting three people, one of them fatally, last weekend.
Det Chief Supt Neil Adamson said Moat had been living rough in a secluded area close to the town. He said his "gut feeling" was that Moat, who could be armed with one or two weapons, was still hiding out in the countryside around Rothbury, an area he knew well.
Northumbria's temporary chief constable, Sue Sim, said although Moat is "a dangerous individual, we remain convinced the main danger is aimed towards the police".
She said "no stone will be unturned in the search for Mr Moat," despite the complexity of the operation and difficulties of the surrounding terrain.
In the latest letter, to his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart whom he shot and wounded last weekend, Moat reiterated his belief her new partner had been a police officer. Police stressed this was untrue.
Armed police have been searching for Moat since the shooting spree on Saturday. The hunt has centred on Rothbury after the discovery there of a black Lexus car he is believed to have used.
He is suspected of shooting Ms Stobbart (22) and killing her boyfriend, Chris Brown (20), early on Saturday morning at her mother's home in Gateshead, shortly after he was released from jail.
He then allegedly shot and critically injured PC David Rathband (42) as he sat in a patrol car a few miles away at East Denton, Newcastle.
A 49-page hand-written letter, purportedly by Moat, to Northumbria police and published by the Sun
newspaper yesterday suggested he was pursuing a vendetta against the force.
In the letter, Moat blamed police for wrecking his life and destroying his relationship with Ms Stobbart.
Reuters