Man to face court over helping Raoul Moat

A man will appear before a crown court charged with helping the fugitive gunman Raoul Moat.

Scott Raisbeck, 30, of Grebe Close, Blyth, Northumberland, was charged with hiding evidence and perverting the course of justice by concealing a van and removing evidence from it.

Moat went on the run after shooting his ex-lover Sam Stobbart and killing her new boyfriend Chris Brown in Birtley, Tyneside, in July. While at large he blinded Pc David Rathband by blasting him in the face.

The 37-year-old doorman escaped capture for a week before he was cornered in Rothbury and shot himself after a six-hour stand-off.

Raisbeck entered no pleas to the charges when he appeared before South East Northumberland Magistrates' Court yesterday.

He was bailed to appear before Newcastle Crown Court on November 22.