Face Of Gunman Who Aided Prison Break
Police have released an e-fit of the man accused of helping a dangerous criminal escape prison custody, as part of a nationwide manhunt.
The man is accused of aiding Category C inmate Andrew Farndon in a planned escape as he arrived by taxi at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds for treatment.
A CCTV image shows the prisoner and his ally running away from the hospital along a path that leads to a car park.
Detectives have had several “suspected sightings” of the escapee.
Suffolk Police are now working to establish whether any of them can be classed as confirmed sightings of the 26-year-old.
The tip-offs have been recorded in different parts of southern England and the Midlands.
Detectives cannot rule out the possibility that the men have fled the country but believe they are both still somewhere in the UK.
DCI Nick Bennett told Sky News: “Obviously the cards are stacked in their favour. They’ve got a head start, and with a broad network of friends and family it’d be quite easy for anybody to lay low from police… for some considerable period of time.
“But we’re liaising closely with colleagues from around the country and we’re getting all the support we need from other police forces in the UK.”
Police officers have spoken to a number of friends, relatives and associates of the prisoner including Farndon’s mother Katrina.
In 2007 when Farndon last escaped from custody she appealed for him to give himself up.
All police forces, ports and airports have been put on alert for the men as well as murder suspect John Anslow, who escaped in a separate incident.
He fled on Monday from a prison van taking inmates from Hewell Prison in Redditch, Worcestershire, to Stafford Crown Court.
The vehicle was ambushed and attacked by three masked men with sledgehammers.
Anslow, 31, from the Tipton area of the West Midlands, is charged with the murder of Richard Deakin in Chasetown, Staffordshire, in July 2010.
TV appeals have given detectives “several new leads” that are now being pursued and a £10,000 reward is now being offered for information that leads to Anslow’s recapture.
Both prisoners are described as dangerous and people are asked to call the police or Crimestoppers if they have any information.
