A WEEK after it began, the hunt for gunman Raoul Moat came to a dramatic end last night.

This is how events have unfolded.

THURSDAY, JULY 1

Moat, 37, from Newcastle, is freed from Durham Prison after serving a term for assault.

FRIDAY, JULY 2

Durham Prison warns Northumbria Police Moat may intend to cause serious harm to former partner, Samantha Stobbart, 22.

7.30pm: Moat is caught on CCTV in a shop in Newcastle. He has a distinctive Mohican-style haircut and is wearing an orange T-shirt.

SATURDAY, JULY 3

2.40am: Miss Stobbart’s boyfriend, Chris Brown, 29, is shot dead outside a house in the Scafell area of Birtley, near Chester-le-Street.

Shots are then fired through the living room window. Miss Stobbart is hit twice and left in a critical condition.

Moat is believed to have taken two men hostage around the time of the shooting.

With a news blackout in place due to a significant risk to the lives of the men, police do not reveal this until a press conference the following Tuesday.

Early hours: The first mobile phone handset used by Moat is found in Birtley at the scene of the first shootings.

11.30am : Detective Superintendent Steve Howes, of Northumbria Police, launches a manhunt, saying: “I would like to stress that this is not a random attack and that the people involved are all known to each other.”

2.20pm: Police announce that they are trying to trace Moat in connection with the shootings.

Mr Howes says the attacker knew his victims, adding: “We believe the offender targeted his victims because of a grudge he held against them.”

SUNDAY JULY 4

0.45am: A police officer, later identified as married father-of-two PC David Rathband, 42, is shot in an unprovoked attack at a roundabout joining the A1 and A69 in East Denton, Newcastle.

The officer is rushed to Newcastle General Hospital and undergoes surgery. His condition is described as critical but stable.

Police later reveal that Moat called 999 about 12 minutes before the attack, threatening to shoot a police officer, and rang back 50 minutes after the shooting.

Moat writes a 49-page confession letter headed “Raoul Moat Murder Statement 4/7/10” in which he details the shootings and vows to keep killing police until he is dead.

6am: Northumbria Police announce that the shooting is linked to the Birtley inquiry and Temporary Chief Constable Sue Sim names Moat as a wanted man who is very dangerous.

Detectives say they believe Moat may also hold a grudge against the police.

2.30pm: Northumbria Police appeal directly to Moat, pleading with him to give himself up.

MONDAY JULY 5

Northumbria Police confirm firearms officers from other forces have been drafted in to help with the manhunt.

11.10am: Mrs Sim reveals that Northumbria Police have referred their response to the information passed on by Durham Prison to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Police also reveal they received a handwritten letter, purportedly from Moat, setting out a general grievance with the police.

Mr Adamson says there are indications that other people may be at risk and a number of them have been given police protection.

6.45pm: Police release a picture of PC Rathband’s bloody face as he recovers in hospital from gunshot wounds.

10.50pm: An armed robbery takes place at a fish and chip shop in Seaton Delaval, near Blyth. A man of a similar description to Moat brandishes a gun and steals cash. Moat is later confirmed as a suspect.

11pm: Police give details of a black Lexus with the registration number V322 HKX, connected to Moat and which officers are trying to trace.

Farmer Graham Noble later reveals the car was parked in the village all day, but residents did not know the significance until the police appeal.

TUESDAY JULY 6

11.15am: Police announce they have set up a two-mile exclusion zone on the ground around Rothbury and a five-mile zone in the air.

People are warned to stay indoors and locals say schools are closed.

11.45am: At a police press conference, Detective Chief Superintendent Neil Adamson says that shortly after 10am, following information from the public, a police operation in the Rothbury area led officers to the black Lexus car, which was unoccupied. He says two men, believed to be the hostages, were seen walking near Rothbury and were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder.

12.30pm: Police surround Pike House, a disused Grade II-listed farm building near Rothbury. Armed officers are seen searching the two-storey premises after a window is forced open to allow a police dog to enter.

Marksmen from several forces search abandoned buildings, forests and grassland on the edge of Northumberland National Park.

4pm: Farmer Jessica Taylor describes how she went to Rothbury police station at 9.30am after noticing smoke, suspecting Moat camped on her family’s land overnight. Police search Wagtail Farm but do not find Moat.

WEDNESDAY JULY 7

Karl Ness, 26, and Qhuram Awan, 23, are named as the two men being held on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder. Police had treated the men as hostages, but when they were found walking in Rothbury, near where Moat’s Lexus was dumped, they were arrested as possible accomplices.

11am: Police reveal that another letter from Moat was found in a tent in a secluded spot near Rothbury.

Police offer a £10,000 reward for information which leads to Moat being captured and Temporary Chief Constable Mrs Sim says no stone will be unturned as she appeals for the public’s continued support.

Det Chief Supt Adamson says they believe Moat has access to weapons and ammunition, and others may be helping him stay on the run. He also gives a new description of Moat.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland sends 20 armoured cars to assist Northumbria Police, while Scotland Yard sends 40 armed officers.

Around 6pm: A further two men are arrested in the vicinity of Rothbury on suspicion of assisting an offender.

7pm: A team of armed officers escort a man, later confirmed as an associate of Moat, near Rothbury, as the search for the suspected gunman intensifies.

THURSDAY JULY 8

2.50am: Two men arrested in connection with the hunt are charged with conspiracy to commit murder and possessing a firearm with intent.

10am: Karl Ness, 26, from Dudley, in North Tyneside, and Qhuram Awan, 23, from Blyth, in Northumberland, appear at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court. Both are remanded in custody.

1pm: Police say information has emerged that Moat has made threats towards the wider public.

Afternoon: A third mobile phone belonging to Moat is discovered by a member of the public walking in open land around Rothbury.

6.30pm: Chief Superintendent Mark Dennett urges the public to stay out of secluded areas around Rothbury and be extra vigilant. “Don’t put yourself at unnecessary risk. Close your doors, close your windows, make sure you are safe in your houses,” he says.

“Please go about your normal business, but with some vigilance.”

Police address residents’ concerns at a packed public meeting in Rothbury attended by about 300 people.

FRIDAY, JULY 9

Early hours: Two men arrested in the Rothbury area on Wednesday are released on police bail.

11.08am: Pictures are released by police showing the equipment Moat was using to hide in his woodland lair.

The images show a duvet, tent and sleeping bag, found in a secluded area on land at Wagtail Farm.

12.37pm: Police reveal they have found three of Moat’s mobile phones and are pursuing fresh leads in connection with the information recovered from them. One, used to make the two 999 calls to police before and after PC David Rathband was shot, was recovered – although police will not say from where or when.

1pm: National Trust property Cragside is closed to the public as armed police descend on the area as part of the search for Moat.

4.36pm: It is confirmed an RAF Tornado jet fitted with maging equipment is being used.

7.30pm: Police warn people to stay inside as a major operation gets under way in Rothbury. Marksmen are seen in the riverside area.

Witnesses describe seeing Moat with a gun pointed at himself, surrounded by armed police.

8.15pm: Northumbria Police confirm officers are negotiating with a man who fits the description of Moat who has been found in the riverbank area.

8.20pm: Retired taxi driver Dave Murray says Moat was chased through the village before being penned in by the river.

8.30pm: Police are seen leaving the Recreation Club car park and filing towards the river.

9.45pm: Moat’s friend, Tony Laidler, is escorted into the police cordon.

9.50pm: Police impose a ten-mile air exclusion zone above Rothbury.

10pm: The first photo of Moat is broadcast, showing him lying face down in the grass and wearing a grey hooded jumper.

10.20pm: Former England footballer Paul Gascoigne gives a radio interview saying he is in Rothbury to offer his support to Moat. He reveals he has brought him “a can of lager, some chicken, a mobile phone” and “something to keep warm” and wants to talk to him.

10.40pm: Witness Susan Ballantyne watches the drama unfold from her home 100 yards away and says Moat is having a drink.