Police release CCTV images of escaped prisoner

Published on Friday 27 January 2012 00:00

Police hunting an escaped prisoner have released CCTV images showing the moment that guards were forced at gunpoint to release him.

Forces nationwide have joined the hunt for Andrew Farndon, who made the “planned” escape as he arrived at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, for treatment on Wednesday.

The guards were held up by a man waiting with a handgun. The images show the gunman approaching the scene and the two men fleeing.

Officers have also released images of people they would like to speak to who may have witnessed the incident. The images include a man on his own carrying items and a man and woman walking together into the hospital.

It is understood that Farndon, 26, whose family live in the Coventry area, inflicted a serious knife wound on himself in prison, before being taken to the hospital’s accident & emergency department in a taxi accompanied by two guards.

When they arrived, a waiting gunman confronted the male and female prison officials, before fleeing with Farndon across the car park, Suffolk Police said.

Police said searches were continuing in Suffolk.