Man suspected of aiding Cumbria gunman Raoul Moat is to go on trial

A man charged with helping gunman Raoul Moat evade police faces trial today.

Scott Raisbeck is accused of helping Moat's henchmen Karl Ness and Qhuram Awan keep the killer one step ahead of the law during his rampage last summer.

The 30-year-old is alleged to have hidden a Transit van used when Moat shot his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart and karate instructor Chris Brown, and to have removed evidence from it.
Raisbeck, of Grebe Close, Blyth, Northumberland, has denied perverting the course of justice and assisting an offender.

The trial, which may take 10 days, is at Newcastle Crown Court.

Awan, 23, of Blyth, and Ness, 26, of Gateshead were jailed for life for their parts in Moat's rampage.

The 37-year-old steroid addict went on the run after shooting Miss Stobbart, 22, and killing Mr Brown, 29, last year.

During the rampage he also blinded PC David Rathband by shooting him in the face.

Moat managed to hide from police for a week before he was finally surrounded in Rothbury, where he shot himself after a six-hour stand-off.