Prisoner escapes during Brighton hospital visit

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-28509863

Version 0 of 1.

Searches are under way for a man who was taken into hospital by the Prison Service but escaped while he was there.

Sussex Police said Jamie Halifax left the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton in the early hours and had not yet been found.

The 25-year-old prisoner had been taken to the hospital for medical treatment when he escaped custody, police said.

Officers are searching the area. The Prison Service said a thorough investigation would be carried out.

Neither police or the Prison Service have revealed what offence Halifax committed and the length of his prison term.

Halifax, who left the hospital at about 00:40 BST, is described as white, 5ft 8in (1.7m), with a slim build and shaven brown hair.

Members of the public who see him have been requested not to approach him but to call Sussex Police.

A spokesman for the Prison Service said: "A thorough investigation will be carried out into the circumstances of this incident. Security is an absolute priority for our prisons and escapes are extremely rare.

"Our immediate priority is working with the police to ensure the recapture of Jamie Halifax."