THE TRIAL OF TWO MEN accused of aiding gunman Raoul Moat heard today that the policeman shot and seriously injured by Moat “played dead” to avoid being killed by Moat, the AP reports.

Moat, 37, shot three people, killing one, just days after being released from prison in July 2010.

He then went on the run for six days and  shot himself when confronted by armed police who had been searching north-eastern England for him.

Two men are accused of assisting Moat. Karl Ness, 26, of Brookside, North Tyneside, and Qhuram Awan, 23, of Rowley Street, Blyth, Northumberland, are accused of attempted murder, possession of a gun and plotting to murder.

The BBC reports that Ness is also charged with murdering Chris Brown, who was Moat’s former girlfriend’s new partner. Ness and Awan deny the charges.

Today, their trial at Newcastle Crown Court heard evidence from Pc David Rathband, who was shot twice by Moat and blinded as he sat unarmed in a parked police car.

Rathband said he made himself stop breathing so it would appear to Moat that he had died. He then managed to raise the alarm.

The trial continues at Newcastle Crown Court.