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Sam Elliott-Gibbs & Saffron Otter & Aaron Morris

Raoul Moat's final words before he died in Northumberland riverbank police stand-off

ITV viewers this evening re-lived the tense moment in which killer Raoul Moat's six-hour stand off with armed police in 2010 came to a close, in the final episode of new drama: The Hunt for Raoul Moat.

The three-part true crime drama recalls the horrific events which took place over a decade ago, sparking one of Great Britain's biggest-ever manhunts.

The former nightclub bouncer shot and injured his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart through the window of a residential property on July 3, 2010 - just moments after he killed her lover Chris Brown.

Read more: What happened to Samantha Stobbart? Raoul Moat's ex heavily featured in ITV drama

The day following the shooting, 37-year-old Moat shot and permanently blinded PC David Rathband, 44 at the time, who was sat in his patrol car in Newcastle. The killer then led police on a week-long man hunt before eventually being cornered by armed officers on the banks of a Northumberland river.

He would fatally shoot himself in the head in the early hours of July 10.

This evening's episode of the ITV drama following the crimes of Moat retells his final hours in Rothbury. He was spotted roaming around the village, July 9, as residents were warned to stay indoors - before he was cornered by armed police on the banks of the Coquet.

After a gruelling six-hour negotiation period, police desperately tried to convince Moat to hand himself in - as he stood with a sawn-off shotgun pointed at his own neck. At around 1.15am come July 10, in torrential rain, Moat ended his own life.

According to The Sunday Telegraph, witnesses heard him tell police: "I have not got a dad - no one cares about me," moments before he shot himself in the head. Minutes later, police reported that the suspect had suffered a gunshot wound and was being transferred to hospital - but he was pronounced dead less than an hour later.

An inquest into Moat's death - ruled to be suicide - heard that two police officers had fired tasers at him through fears that he was going to take his own life. The three-week inquest at Newcastle Crown Court was told that Raoul was hit by an experimental Taser round by marksmen who judged that he was about to kill himself, but it had no effect.

The inquest also revealed that Moat said he would 'take the shoot-out' rather than being incarcerated again. His brother Angus told the hearing that he should have been able to negotiate with Raoul - as his request had been turned down by officers who said he responded to aggression and threat but also "kindness and friendship."

Northumbria Police Chief Constable Sue Sim welcomed the 2011 verdict. She said: "Raoul Moat chose his path, he decided to murder, attempt to murder and to threaten the lives of the public and police officers.

"He had many opportunities to hand himself in and face justice, yet he chose not to do so. His victims had no such choice. This was an extremely complex and dynamic operation. In the first few days we were also dealing with a potential hostage situation.

"We always wanted to bring him to justice."

The Hunt For Raoul Moat airs tonight on 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX

Read next:

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  • Is ITV's Hunt for Raoul Moat all true? Name change, ex's desperate lie and Gazza absence
  • Emmerdale's Dale Meeks stuns ITV viewers with role in The Hunt for Raoul Moat
  • Why Paul Gascoigne was 'cut' from ITV's Hunt for Raoul Moat drama
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