Police hunt escaped prisoner

Police describe the man as extremely dangerous

A man jailed for life for attempting to murder a policeman is on the run after he escaped from prison.

Sussex Police say that Jonathan Andrew Raynor, 27, is "dangerous" and members of the public should not approach him.

Inspector Tony McCarthy refused to say how Raynor managed to escape from Ford open prison in West Sussex.

Raynor is described as white, 5ft 10in tall, of proportionate build, and he has a clean shaven fair complexion, black eyes and receding short brown hair.

'Undetected' escape

Mr McCarthy said: "This man is considered to be dangerous to the public.

"If seen by members of the public they should contact police on 999."

Raynor, convicted of attempted murder, was serving a life sentence at Ford open prison, near Littlehampton.

The Prison Service said Raynor, convicted in 1994, failed to attend a roll call last night at the prison.

A spokeswoman said the convict would have been assessed as suitable for a place at Ford.

At the prison he was free to come and go providing he attended roll calls and slept there.

Risk assessment

It is thought he walked from the site undetected until the routine evening check.

The spokeswoman said: "Ford is an open prison and inmates move in open conditions.

"It works on a trust basis as part of the rehabilitation process.

"Some inmates leave the prison for work and only sleep at the jail. Raynor actually had a job at the jail.

"He would have undergone a risk assessment, but of course it is impossible to be 100% sure about someone."