The survival expert Ray Mears was enlisted by police to hunt down the fugitive gunman Raoul Moat during the seven-day search in the Northumberland countryside, it emerged today.

A Northumbria police spokeswoman confirmed the extraordinary news that Mears had been involved in the manhunt, but refused to elaborate on his role.

"We can confirm Ray Mears did assist in this investigation, as did several other agencies and specialists," she said.

Mears, a 46-year-old TV presenter and author of the Outdoor Survival Handbook, is believed to have helped track Moat's movements after he fled his makeshift camp near the village of Rothbury, and after the gunman declared "war" on police in a rambling letter.

The survival expert refused to comment about his role in the search. But his presence will inevitably lead to further questions by critics who claimed the force mishandled the investigation.

A member of the public spotted Moat, a 37-year-old former nightclub bouncer, in the village on 9 July and called police. Moat died early the next day after a six-hour standoff with armed officers. A week earlier, he had shot his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart, 22, and murdered her boyfriend, Chris Brown, 29. Within 24 hours, he went on to shoot PC David Rathband in the face. The policeman, who was blinded in the attack, left hospital today.

An Independent Police Complaints Commission inquiry is already under way into the firing of two Xrep Tasers by West Yorkshire police marksmen at around the same time Moat apparently shot himself. The weapons, with a much longer range than normal Tasers, were not approved for use and were undergoing testing by the Home Office.

During the search, officers from other forces across England and Wales, snipers from Scotland Yard's elite C019 firearms unit, helicopters and armoured vehicles from Northern Ireland were drafted in to Northumberland. An RAF Tornado equipped with infra-red equipment, more commonly in use in Afghanistan, also made surveillance sweeps over the area.

Rathband, a 42-year-old father of two, insisted today he harboured no bitterness. He said: "My facial injuries have all been sorted by the plastics team at the hospital and it's just a case of allowing my jaw and face and stuff to knit together."

So far, 20 people have been arrested in connection with the case – the latest being two men and two women who were bailed today after they were questioned on suspicion of assisting Moat.