Murderer charged with absconding from prison

A convicted murderer accused of absconding from prison will appear in court charged with robbery and escaping lawful custody.

Matthew Armstrong, 35, was arrested near Henley-in-Arden train station by Warwickshire Police on Wednesday following a sighting by a member of the public.

He is the third person to be charged in connection with an investigation into three men who allegedly absconded from HMP Leyhill, in South Gloucestershire, on New Year's Day.

Armstrong has also been charged with robbery after a man forced his way into a home in Leyhill on New Year's Eve. He will appear at Bristol Magistrates' Court later.

Avon and Somerset Police said occupants of the home were threatened and a mobile phone and cash were stolen in the incident on the evening of 31 December.

A search had been under way for Armstrong, Daniel Washbourne and Aaron Thomas after they failed to return to the category D prison.

Washbourne, 40, who has previous convictions for violence, was arrested in Bristol on Wednesday and appeared at Bristol Magistrates' Court on Thursday charged with escaping lawful custody.

He will next appear at Bristol Crown Court on 9 February.

Meanwhile Thomas, 39, was arrested on Saturday after voluntarily handing himself in to police.

He was later charged with escaping lawful custody and is next due to appear in court in February.

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