26 Jan 2012

A violent prisoner who went on the run after being sprung from the clutches of prison officers by an armed accomplice is being hunted by police.

Andrew Farndon, who is serving an indeterminate jail sentence for a brutal hammer attack, made the "planned" escape as he was being escorted to West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, for treatment on Wednesday.

It is understood the 26-year-old inflicted a serious knife wound on himself in prison, before being taken to the hospital's Accident & Emergency (A&E) department in a taxi accompanied by two guards.

Upon arrival, a waiting gunman confronted the male and female prison officials and threatened them with his weapon, before fleeing with Farndon across the car park, Suffolk Police said.

Police said they were contacted just after 6.50pm by hospital staff who witnessed the incident. The prison officers, who had travelled from Highpoint prison in Stradishall, near Newmarket, called moments later.

Farndon previously escaped by leaping from the dock at Coventry Crown Court in 2007, but was sentenced in his absence to an indeterminate sentence for public protection (IPP) and told he must serve at least two years before being considered for parole.

He was found guilty of grievous bodily harm after a hammer attack that left his victim with a fractured skull, but officials only classed him as a category C prisoner - meaning he was deemed unlikely to make a determined escape attempt.

Detective Chief Inspector Nick Bennett said Farndon had been taken to hospital in a saloon from a local taxi firm, after reporting the serious but non life-threatening knife wound. He said he understood it was standard practice to transport prisoners to hospital by taxi unless there is a "specific risk". He added: "He was handcuffed to a female prison officer who removed the handcuffs when threatened with the handgun. A male prison officer was also escorting him."

The guards, both in their late 20s to early 30s, are being questioned by police. No-one was hurt in the incident.

Mr Bennett said: "He (Farndon) was convicted of GBH which barring murder makes him as dangerous as you can get. We know at least two people are involved, maybe more. Members of the public should not approach him."