Police hunting a man wanted for murder feared he might attack unarmed officers in an incident reminiscent of the shooting of a PC during the Raoul Moat manhunt.

William Smith was on the run following the killing of Roy Blackman at his home in Biddenden during a robbery which saw a safe containing anywhere up to £250,000 in cash stolen.

Police believed the 36-year-old "career criminal" who had skipped bail by removing an electronic tag was potentially armed and might shoot himself or provoke 'suicide by cop' if surrounded.

The inquest into his death, which is being held at County Hall in Maidstone, this morning heard from a Kent Police tactical firearms commander - identified only as Officer Y - about the fears senior officers had about what might happen if unarmed patrols accidentally came across the wanted man.

Six years earlier, Northumbria Police had launched a manhunt to apprehend gunman Raoul Moat. While at large, Moat had shot and blinded unarmed PC David Rathband, who later took his own life.

Questioned by counsel for the inquest, Christopher Sutton-Mattocks QC, the officer was asked about the "fight or flight" risks associated with Smith, who the inquest has previously heard was considered to be emotionally or mentally distressed in the lead up to his fatal shooting by police officers near Goudhurst on May 1, 2016.

One of the concerns senior officers had was the risk that Smith, who was believed to have access to shotguns and a handgun, might be stopped by unwitting officers who would then be in grave danger.

"It pertained to an incident where Raoul Moat had attacked a police officer in his vehicle," Officer Y said. "The findings of that were current and pertinent at the time we were considering this."

The inquest previously heard Smith had been "high on drugs" when 73-year-old Mr Blackman was viciously beaten to death during a bungalow burglary in March 2016.

Intelligence received by the police via the Gypsy Liaison Team led them to suspect that the nature of that crime, a brutal attack on an elderly man, may have led him to be shunned by parts of the traveller community.

Officer Y told the hearing: "My working assumption behind that was that the crime he had committed was against an elderly person, crimes against the elderly are not approved of."

The operation to apprehend Smith and return him to custody was given extra urgency, the inquest heard, because there was a reasonable fear he may continue to offend to support his drug habit while on the run.

'If there's a drug habit, he has got to fund that...'

"There was an escalating pattern of criminal activity leading up to the arrest, bail and absconding from the tag," Officer Y said.

"I was concerned he was running out of funds. For a person to remain at large, if there's a drug habit, he has got to fund that and the only way I saw that was through criminal activity."

Last week the inquest, which is expected to last five weeks, was told how DNA evidence had linked Smith to a number of violent, armed burglaries in the months leading up to his death.

One of these was the robbery of clay pigeon shooting champion George Digweed MBE, who was beaten by four balaclava-clad men who broke into his home in Ewhurst Lane, Northiam, in February 2016.

Intruders armed with a hammer smashed their way into the property where Mr Digweed lived with his wife, demanding properties and valuables.

The couple then had their hands bound with duct tape, and Mr Digweed was struck on the head and threatened with a Taser, before being forced to open his safe. As well as thousands of pounds in cash, the robbers took two shotguns and a Toyota Hilux was also stolen.

Smith's DNA was found on the hammer used in the burglary, while the DNA of mechanic Mark Love was discovered on the Taser. Love was later convicted of both the murder of Roy Blackman and the Digweed robbery.

One of the shotguns stolen during the Northiam break-in was later found near to Smith following his death at the hands of the police, while the barrel of the second was also recovered at the scene.

The inquest continues.

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