Ray Mears helped search for Raoul Moat

Survival expert Ray Mears assisted police in the search for fugitive gunman Raoul Moat, a force spokeswoman said today.

The survival and bushcraft expert, who has starred in his own TV programmes, was drafted in to help Northumbria Police track down the 37-year-old bouncer.

Scores of armed officers were brought in to scour the wild countryside around Rothbury, Northumberland, where Britain's most wanted man was believed to be camping out.

Police helicopters searched hundreds of acres and an RAF Tornado jet with sophisticated on-board cameras even joined the hunt for Moat, who had declared war on police.

A Northumbria Police spokeswoman said: "We can confirm Ray Mears did assist in this investigation, as did several other agencies and specialists."

Mears, 46, was believed to have been drafted in to help police after officers discovered an abandoned campsite on the outskirts of Rothbury.

After giving officers the slip for a week, Moat died following a six-hour stand-off with police on the banks of the River Coquet after he was cornered.