The army has been put on alert after a violent man escaped from prison on the edge of Salisbury Plain.

Civilian clothes were discovered missing from Richard Phillips's cell after he escaped from Erlestoke Prison in Wiltshire.

Sergeant Ken Godfrey of Wiltshire Police said a helicopter and dog teams had joined the search for the man.

"The military have also been informed, in view of Salisbury Plain being nearby.

"He has a history of violence and I would advise people not to approach this man if they believe they have seen him."

Phillips, who is 6ft 1ins tall, comes from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.

He is serving a sentence of three and a half years.

He is described as clean-shaven, with brown hair and blue eyes.

He was thought to have been wearing lime green prison overalls and a donkey jacket when he escaped early on Wednesday afternoon.

The clothes missing from his cells included a grey jacket.