Police hunting shooting suspect Raoul Moat have shut down a two-mile area around a village.
Residents of Rothbury in Northumberland were warned to stay indoors and people were advised not to travel to the area.
Northumbria Police said they had set up a two-mile exclusion zone around the village on the ground and a five-mile exclusion zone in the air.
Bill Brown, who owns the Queens Head Hotel in Rothbury, said: "There is a helicopter hovering overhead and a number of police vans around. But there's nothing going on in the village itself - it seems to be over the Cragside estate."
Northumbria Police said in a statement: "Numerous resources are being deployed to the area to reassure the public and to carry out an effective search. The public may experience some disruption and we are seeking their patience and co-operation.
Moat, 37, declared "war" on the police and vowed not to stop killing "till I'm dead" in a letter sent to the force.
The former nightclub bouncer blamed Northumbria Police for ruining his life in the 49-page hand-written confession, which was obtained by The Sun.
Headed "Raoul Moat Murder Statement 4/7/10", the document - written in capital letters and handed to a friend in Newcastle - warned that police would "pay for what they've done" to him and his ex-girlfriend, Samantha Stobbart.
Moat, from the Fenham area of Newcastle, allegedly went on the rampage after being released from Durham Prison on Thursday.
It emerged yesterday that police were warned he may have been planning to harm his ex-girlfriend on Friday, the day before he allegedly shot Miss Stobbart, 22, and killed her new boyfriend, Chris Brown. The next day the fugitive also allegedly shot and injured Pc David Rathband.
