Another Facebook page in tribute to gunman Raoul Moat is proving almost as popular as its predecessor.
The 'R.I.P Raoul Moat!' group on the social networking site has nearly 13,000 supporters and describes the gunman - jailed for assaulting a child - as a "loving father and an all round canny lad".
It advertises itself as "R.I.P Raoul Moat! Died aged 37 but for many you only lived for 7 days!!! http://www.ripmoat.com/ No haters or you get removed from group". The presence of the page is causing a massive debate online with some Facebook users condemning those who are portraying the 37-year-old steroid-abusing former nightclub doorman as a legend and hero.
Some of the messages criticise the police and Moat's ex-partner Sam Stobbart, 22, for telling him that her new boyfriend was a policeman. One Facebook user wrote: "Cant condone what he did, shooting his ex and partner, but the blame clearly lies at the polices door, they killed Raoul Moat." Another wrote: "Proper legend got a lot of respect 4 that man.. on the run 4 ages."
On Thursday, the 'RIP Raoul Moat you Legend' group was taken down by its creator, 21-year-old Siobhan O'Dowd, from Burnley, after attracting over 30,000 members.
She took down the group after it was criticised by Prime Minister David Cameron but maintained Moat was "still a human being at the end of the day".
A shrine in Rothbury, Northumberland, at the spot where Moat shot himself, was cleared by people disgusted at the worshipping of the gunman.
Kath Rathband, the wife of injured Pc David Rathband, 42, condemned the members of these groups. "Why anyone with any morals would think that Moat was a hero and a legend is beyond me," she told a national newspaper. "My husband is a hero - and there is no comparison between my husband and Moat. David's bravery is astonishing. Moat was an out-and-out coward."
Moat shot himself last week in Rothbury following a massive manhunt, which ended in a six-hour stand-off with armed police.
The father of three became Britain's most wanted man after killing karate instructor Chris Brown, 29, and wounding his former girlfriend and Pc Rathband.
