THE outburst of macabre hero worship for murderer Raoul Moat has been criticised by the former Chief Constable of Lancashire.

Flowers and cards have transformed the riverside in Rothbury, Northumberland, where Moat shot himself in the early hours of Sunday morning, into a shrine.

Around 50 colourful bouquets have also been left outside his former home in Fenham, Newcastle upon Tyne.

One hand-written card said: "RIP Raoul. We know you did some bad things but you didn't deserve to die, as everyone has rights."

Almost 17,000 people have joined a Facebook group called RIP Raoul Moat You Legend, many of them praising the gunman for shooting an officer.

Bacup-born Sir Paul Stephenson, now the Scotland Yard boss, labelled ghoulish tributes as "extraordinarily disappointing".

Asked about the response at New Scotland Yard, the senior officer suggested he struggled to understand it.

Sir Paul said: "People really do need to think about what precisely they are saying about our society and individuals in it."