Raoul Moat may have evaded capture for almost a week by using the drains beneath Rothbury, it has emerged tonight.

Moat, 37, has been pinned down near tennis courts for several hours after a chase through the centre of the town.

In a bizarre twist Paul Gascoigne has arrived in Rothbury and revealed that he knows the gunman.

The footballer, who arrived with a can of lager, some chicken, a fishing rod and something to keep him warm, said he hoped the stand-off would end peacefully and referred to the gunman as "Moaty".

He described the former nightclub bouncer, who is wanted for murder, as "a good lad", adding: " I just want to give him some therapy and say come on Moaty, its Gazza.

"He is alright - simply as that and I am willing to help him. I have come all the way from Newcastle to Rothbury to find him, have a chat with him.

"I guarantee, Moaty, he won't shoot me. I am good friends with him. I knew him years ago when he was a bouncer in Newcastle."

Police have already brought one of the gunman's friends to the scene to help negotiations.

Earlier, when Moat reached the river he stopped and threatened to kill himself.

He is sat on a river bank cradling a sawn-off shotgun and occasionally putting it to his head and neck. At times he has laid down on the grass with the gun pointed at himself. He is wearing a black cap and dark clothes.

Police have brought in a friend of Moat's - named locally as Tony Laidler - in a bid to persuade him to give himself up. It is understood that Moat has asked for his friend to be brought to the scene.

Food and water have also been brought in for the exhausted gunman.

The area is very close to the centre of the town. It is also close to a main drain - leading to speculation that the gunman may have been hiding in the sewers by day and emerging at night to steal food.

Several witnesses claimed they had seen the wanted main brazenly walking down the main street on Thursday night - only for him to disappear at the end of the main thoroughfare.

Speculation is now rife that he may have been using the sewers to move around beneath the town, while hundreds of police searched for him above.

Police armed with rifles and hand guns are taking cover behind several squad cars, including an armoured Mitsubishi Shogun 4x4.

Firearms cops are within 10 metres of the gunman. One officer has a Taser stun gun trained on the suspect.

The gunman is talking to police negotiators - and seeking assurances about his safety. He is believed to be surrounded by officers from the elite Scotland Yard SO19 firearms team - but is trying to move away.

Moat has been cornered near a house which he broke into on Tuesday morning.

One elderly woman is believed to be in the house - but is not a hostage. She has been told to stay indoors.

Television cameras have been moved back for their own safety. Journalists are to be moved away.

Scores of armed officers have been scrambed from Northumbria Police headquarters in Ponteland.

Around 100 armed officers are now believed to be in Rothbury.

In the last few moments an ambulance has gone through the police cordon - but, as yet, no shots have been fired.

Some police sources are saying a man has been apprehended - but have not confirmed if the suspect is Moat himself - and the operation appears to be very much on-going.

Police dog handlers have just been brought in.

Retired taxi driver Dave Murray, 67, of Knocklaw, said Moat appeared to have been chased through the village and was heading east before being cornered at the primary school tennis courts and bowling green.

He said: "There is nowhere for him to go, the river is on one side and this road and all the police on the other."

The fugitive is understood to have been located by police snipers during a routine sweep.

As soon as the alarm was raised police flooded the area.

At one point two police vehicles collided.

Chief Supt Mark Dennett warned residents of Rothbury to "stay inside for your own safety" as a major police operation got underway in the town.

Moat has kept one step ahead of police for seven days after shooting his ex-girlfriend last Saturday morning and murdering her new boyfriend. He shot and wounded an unarmed police officer just 24 hours later.