Raoul Moat: Geordie Rambo hero to online fans who hate authority

WHILE the actions and threats of Raoul Moat shocked those watching the stand-off unfolding live on television, to many online communities he was a "Geordie Rambo" and "Angel of Vengeance".

The former bouncer, who shot three people, including his ex-girlfriend and a policeman, has become a macabre anti-hero on many UK social networking sites and online forums.

Hundreds of Facebook visitors posted messages of support during the week-long search for the steroid abuser.

When the 37-year-old took his own life in the early hours of yesterday, the postings turned to condemnation of the police. On one Facebook fan club, whose membership rapidly rose to 8,600 last night, a British woman in her 20s, posted: "RIP Raoul what a true legend, took a lot of b*lls to do what u did, hope your in peace now and fair play to you for everything!"

Another group, which 100 people have joined, sympathised with the killer and the circumstances he put himself in, saying, "Moat is a true British hero, he done what he thought was right by getting revenge on his cheating ex-girlfriend. Join this group to support him."

Others claimed police had "murdered" the 17-stone bodybuilder, released from prison the day before he shot dead his former partner's new boyfriend.

One member, calling himself "RIP Raoul Moat" and pictured apparently holding his toddler daughter, said: "RIP Raoul… murdered by police... the truth will soon be made public."

Another posting said: "Murdering pigs, using a Taser on a bloke with a gun to his head and finger on the trigger."

Several members appeared to suggest Moat was a victim of an unjust criminal system, with one saying, "he is only interested in revenge to make up for years of mental torture by the piggy policemen," while another suggested Moat was an underdog, hunted down by hundreds of armed officers. "Wot a bunch of cowards the police are. 100s and 100s of them wiv assault rifles and armoured vehicles running scared of one man with a shotgun," it said.

One recently retired senior policeman accepted that it did not look good when hundreds of officers in armoured vehicles surrounded an individual with a shotgun.

Many on the social networking site have also taken to placing Moat's name in front of theirs as a show of support.

But David Wilson, a Scot and professor of criminology at Birmingham City University, said that online support for Moat reflected an anti-authority stance.

He said that domestic abuser Moat "has been trying to construct an image of Robin Hood or Rambo rather than being a paranoid narcissist with a gun."