Hunt for two prisoners continues as third is charged

A man who absconded from an open prison on New Year's Day with two other inmates has now been charged with escaping from lawful custody.

Aaron Thomas, 39, was arrested in Bristol on Saturday after leaving HMP Leyhill in South Gloucestershire with convicted murderer Matthew Armstrong and Daniel Washbourne, who are still on the run, and failing to return.

Thomas is due to appear at Bristol Magistrates' Court on Monday.

Avon and Somerset Police said inquiries to locate the two missing men are ongoing.

The force urged the public not to approach the men but to call 999 immediately if they are spotted.

The men left the open prison on 1 January between 17:00 and 20:00 GMT, police said.

Armstrong was 18 when he was jailed for life in 2009 with a minimum term of 19 years for the murder of 54-year-old Paul Smith in Rugby town centre.

Mr Smith, a grandfather, had been returning home from the pub when he was attacked by Armstrong and his 14-year-old accomplice, who beat him around the head with a brick.

The pair then robbed him of his phone and wallet and left him on the pavement in a pool of blood.

Open prisons have "minimal security and allow eligible prisoners to spend most of their day away from the prison on licence to carry out work, education or for other resettlement purposes", according to the Ministry of Justice.

HMP Leyhill has an operational capacity of about 825 inmates.

Police have released CCTV footage showing what the men were wearing on New Year's Day.

Armstrong, now 35, was last seen wearing a burgundy or orange coat, grey cap, grey tracksuit suit bottoms with blue on the side, and black boots.

He is described as white, male, about 5ft 9ins, with ginger hair and scars on his forehead.

Police said he has known links to Warwickshire.

Washbourne, 40, is described as white, male, about 5ft 6ins, slim, with brown hair and clean shaven.

He was last seen wearing a cream-coloured fleece, blue tracksuit bottoms, blue hat and black trainers. He has known links to Herefordshire.

Police said officers understand he has previous convictions for violence against a person and false imprisonment.

HMP Leyhill reported the absconders to the force on Thursday evening, and police attended the prison at about 21:45 GMT to start carrying out inquiries.

"Urgent actions" have been completed, police said, "including circulating the men as wanted via national police systems".

Intelligence work to trace the men's movements is ongoing and other police forces have checked linked addresses but not found them.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: "Absconding is a serious criminal offence, and any prisoner who commits this crime could face longer behind bars.

"The police are working urgently to recapture these individuals, and we urge anyone with information to go to the police."