[jasonl]

How  is it up here?  you guys ok?

[Ian Rochester]

I had a two teams of my window lads stuck in Rothbury yesterday, they couldn't get out for a couple of hours but carried on working on the hillside till the police let them through the cordon.

When they phoned me to tell me what was happening, I stuck a "tweet" on Twitter about it, literally within a minute I had BBC News on the phone to me asking if they could talk to them!!

Apparently they were broadcast on the main BBC 1 news at lunchtime yesterday and BBC Newcastle radio later in the afternoon.

We've still got two full days work to do up there yet, may need to come up with alternative rounds for them today if they can't get in.

[John Kelly]

Theres bigger nutters than him walking round Newcastle

Someone should tell him Mike Ashley was shagging his bird.

[DK]

Theres bigger nutters than him walking round Newcastle

Someone should tell him Mike Ashley was shagging his bird.

PMSL

[Billy Russell]

Theres bigger nutters than him walking round Newcastle

Someone should tell him Mike Ashley was shagging his bird.

I like it!!   Can we tell him George Gillet and Tom Hicks had a threesome with his missus!!

[wynne jones]

It's really scary.

All those Plods with  twitchy ring pieces and fingers.   And some of them have guns!

[clinton]

Your right wynne

Lets see how good they are with him,a bit tougher than picking on motorists and people dropping litter i guess..

[wynne jones]

I thought after the taxi guy there might be some more. I think it will either be a Postie or someone in local government next.

Just shows you how dangerous the steroids are at least that's what they were saying on GMTV.

[Ian Rochester]

I've been up to Rothbury today, we've had 6 lads working up there.

Basically the place is swarming with police, walking around, in vehicles, two helicopters flying around, plus there apparently 40 more armed police on their way up there this afternoon from down south along with 2 armoured vehicles!!

Just think of the overtime for them poor coppers!!

[Joe H]

and just think - this guy has a gun, wants to shoot a copper or two, and he is in hiding and they in the open.

Fancy their overtime Ian???

[Ian Rochester]

Fair point Joe and I wasn't trying to be condescending of our super Northumbrian Police Force, it was a copper that actually mentioned the overtime to me today

Mr Moat is probably long gone from the immediate area by now and I think a lot of what is happening up there at the moment with the police has a mildly disguised political face to it.

However, back to your question, if given the choice I think I'd still rather be a copper in Rothbury, running the risk of facing a single idiot with a pistol and going home everynight, than one of our soldiers out in Afghanistan, facing a nation of manical terrorists with machine guns, bombs, mortars and other IED's 24 hours a day for up to 6 months at a time  with no sight of any ending (that's my political dig) 

 

Just heard that it's now 20 armoured vehicles that are on their way up to Rothbury..........there's only enough parking for about 30 vehicles on the whole of Rothbury main street!!

[Steve. Taylor]

Good shout joe. My brother is in a team of 6 deployed this morning from southampton.
stints in siera leone norhern ireland normally works the cruise terminals in southampton now

Trust me clinton not the sort of cop that pulls you for droping litter or doing 35 in a 30

[wynne jones]

Is Eddie McGee still alive? He would catch the twit.

He told me about this guy they hunted down and shot him in the head. When they searched him he had a round with Edies name on it. 

edit: I've just Googled it, he died in 2002 of cancer. RIP Eddie 

[Ian Rochester]

North Northumberland is once again a safe place to live!

I was working in Cragside yesterday morning and I thought "This would be a good place for Raoul Moat to hide out" as it's dense with Rhoddedendron bushes.  He was probably watching me as I cleaned!!

Feel a bit sorry for him and his kids, this is not the way you want to remember your dad, he obviously couldn't see any light at the end of the tunnel, just many years in prison.

[Joe H]

If Cragside is Rothbury, sorry, you wouldnt of got me any where near it.

Amazes me that the police have been searching Rothbury area since Tuesday and people were still taking walks by the river.  No way.

[clinton]

He will become a cult figure to a lot of young guys i guess..Spec after giving the police the run around for a week..

[Ian Rochester]

Joe,

Life has to go on, if we worried about every possible eventuality in life then we'd end up locking ourselves indoors and never venturing out.

Rothbury is a large village in the middle of the Northumberland moorland, it is surrounding by massive wooded areas, Cragside alone is about 1/2 mile from Rothbury and is a National Trust property that covers over 1000 of predominantly dense rhodeddenron and other woodland.

There is also Thrunton Woods and Simonside woods, which are both Forestry Commision farmed woodland and cover several thousand acres around Rothbury.  Further afield you are in the middle of the National Parks and Kielder Forest.

The police were onto an almost impossible task of trying to find him in this area, what they did do was handle the situation very well and kept everyone informed thoughout the process.

He could have laid low for weeks without ever coming close to another human being if he'd wanted to, why he decided to come out last night and end it all we will never know.

[wynne jones]

So much for 'negotiators', best all round really.