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PC David Rathband talks of moment he thought he'd die

Aug 5 2010 by Sophie Doughty, The Journal

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Police officer David Rathband who was shot by Raoul Moat finally on his way home from hospital (pictured with his wife Kath)

BLINDED police officer David Rathband has told how images of his children flashed before his eyes in the moments after Raoul Moat shot him in the face.

The traffic officer, who lost the sight in both his eyes when the fugitive gunman shot him as he sat in his patrol car has described how he thought he would die after the terrifying attack.

And the 42-year-old said he saw his son Ashley, 17, and daughter Mia, 12, float past him as he lay bleeding in the footwell of his squad car, convinced he would die alone.

Speaking to ITV Tonight’s Fiona Foster, he said: “I saw my two children and they were floating past me from my left to right as I sat there and they stopped.

“And I can remember my son and daughter speaking to me and I couldn’t speak to them, I was drifting away, and as I was drifting away my son stood up and grabbed hold of me.

“And my daughter was standing next to him and then I heard the sounds of the sirens coming and then my son and daughter disappeared in my mind.

“And I heard three sirens coming from the area of where my police station was and that was the point where I knew before the sirens I was facing death because I did not by any imagination expect to live and I didn’t want to die in a police car.”