Inmate makes bid to escape as prison van stops at lights

Published on Thursday 29 April 2010 09:39

A PRISONER went on the run after escaping from a prison van when it was stopped at traffic lights.

The inmate was being taken from Addiewell Prison to Shotts Prison yesterday afternoon when he broke free from a van operated by private security firm Reliance and ran off into fields near Breich, West Lothian.

The man was on the run for 15 minutes before being captured following a joint operation by Lothian and Borders and Strathclyde Police. Reliance has now launched an urgent inquiry to find out how the man managed to escape from the van at around 2pm yesterday.

A spokesman for the firm said: "We have instigated an immediate internal inquiry to establish the circumstances of this incident."

He added: "Reliance delivers around 17,000 prisoners a month to Scotland's courts and incidents of this nature are extremely rare."

Due to the location of yesterday's incident, officers from both Strathclyde and Lothian and Borders were involved.

A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Police said: "An immediate search was launched by Lothian and Borders Police and Strathclyde Police, and the man was successfully detained around 15 minutes later."

Livingston MSP Angela Constance said: "It is obviously deeply concerning. I am, however, somewhat relieved that the prisoner was apprehended within 15 minutes. Nonetheless, I will be raising this as a matter or urgency with both the justice secretary, Kenny MacAskill, and Reliance themselves.

"The privatisation of the prisoners' escorts was something that was implemented by the previous Scottish Executive and there have, over the years, been concerns."

It is not the first time that controversy had surrounded Reliance. In 2006, the firm was at the centre of a series of blunders, including accidentally releasing prisoners. Other prisoners were returned to jail instead of being released after they were bailed from court, and several were taken to the wrong courts, delaying their cases.

In April last year, 28-year-old Brian Lamb from Gorebridge tried to escape from Edinburgh Sheriff Court, where he was on trial for assaulting a bus driver in Edinburgh.

Although there were police officers in the courtroom, there was no Reliance guard to handcuff him when he was told he would be jailed for four months. He leapt from the dock and fled the courtroom, only to be wrestled to the ground by police and have a further 12 months added to his sentence.