THE gunman at the centre of a siege that shocked the North-East more than a decade ago was back behind bars last night after he was arrested in a dramatic police operation.

Armed officers swooped to detain Keith Pringle, who had been released only months ago after serving almost 12 years in jail.

He was arrested in Darlington for breaching the conditions of his prison licence - namely that he must not enter the town where he shot his best friend and his girlfriend's mother during a stand-off in 1992.

Pringle took girlfriend Leanne Rees hostage at her parents' home in Lyonette Road, wrongly believing she had been unfaithful, and shot her mother, Pauline, in the head when she tried to intervene.

Mrs Rees suffered serious head wounds but recovered.

He had earlier lured friend Jason Ward, who he suspected of having an affair with his girlfriend, to a country lane before shooting him twice with a sawn-off shotgun, causing serious injuries to his leg and arm.

The terrifying events, which began on Easter Sunday and spanned three days, ended when Pringle was shot in the face by a police marksman.

Police confirmed last night that a 34-year-old man was arrested in the Blackwell area of Darlington on Wednesday evening.

A spokesman said: "Fire-arms officers and baton gunners were deployed to help stop a Mercedes car which had been travelling from North Yorkshire towards Darlington.

"The driver was arrested for being in breach of the conditions of his prison licence.

"After being detained initially at Darlington police station, he was released into the custody of the Prison Service."

Pringle was captured close to the Blackwell Spar shop and post office.

Passers-by were stunned to see armed officers with weapons trained on the vehicle after police halted it at the junction of Carmel Road South and Blackwell Lane.

Pringle was not carrying a weapon when he was stopped, but the police spokesman said: "Bearing in mind the subject's background, it was prudent to use the firearms team."

He will now spend further weeks in jail as a result of breaching the conditions of his licence.

Pringle would have been eligible for release last year, but blew his chances by threatening to kill an officer at Durham's Frankland Prison, as well as his wife and children.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that Pringle told the officer: "When I get out in four months' time, I am going to shoot you and your wife and kids because I have got nothing to live for. Believe me, it will happen."

He was sentenced to a further three years in jail, but this was reduced to two years on appeal.

The siege made history as the first time that a Durham Police officer had fired on a suspect.

It also commanded national headlines at the time and was later reconstructed in the BBC programme Hostage, part of its Crime Limited series.

Actor Tim Healy played the role of Detective Chief Inspector Arthur Proud, then Durham Police's senior negotiator, who worked 20-hour shifts desperately trying to stop Pringle shooting Leanne or himself.