AS police staged one of their biggest-ever manhunts in North Yorkshire, Mark Hobson kept up with what they were doing by reading the Evening Press.

Detectives have revealed that a copy of our newspaper was discovered in fields where Hobson hid out near the village of Shipton-by-Beningbrough, before being caught.

The newspaper, from Friday July 23, revealed how Hobson had gone to York Hospital after killing Claire and Diane Sanderson and before killing Joan and James Britton.

It told how CCTV footage had caught him walking through the entrance to the hospital at 2am on the Sunday, after he had duped his mother into giving him a lift there.

The paper said hospital staff and patients might have come face-to-face with the killer.

Police say the newspaper has since been forensically linked to Hobson - which means he must have either bought, stolen or found it to discover how the hunt for him was progressing.

However, the Evening Press, aware that Hobson might read our reports, took steps during the week-long hunt not to give away crucial information which might help him elude police.

While attending police press conferences, certain details emerged which could have jeopardised officers' chances of tracking him down and bringing him to justice.

We agreed not to report those details - and have now agreed to continue keeping them secret - so that if anyone else goes on the run in future, they won't know how police might find them.

Police have stressed that the newspaper and other media's help in publicising the hunt and investigation was crucial to their hopes of capturing Hobson.

They say their aim was to keep his face on the front page of every paper every day, so that when he emerged from his hiding place, people would recognise him.

Deputy Chief Constable Roger Baker thanked the media for keeping the story in the public's mind, while also helping to reassure the readers.

Updated: 13:52 Tuesday, April 19, 2005