Prisoner hitches ride to railway

Topen escaped while receiving treatment in hospital

An escaped prisoner is believed to have hitchhiked to a Warwickshire railway station.

Police say a member of the public unwittingly picked up a man matching Gordon Topen's description on Good Friday and took him to Rugby station.

Topen, who is serving a life sentence, is still on the run after escaping from the Walsgrave hospital in Coventry on 9 April.

He was undergoing a blood transfusion when he escaped from custody officers.

Public warning

West Midlands Police believe Topen, 33, could have returned to London, where he grew up, and are liaising with the Metropolitan Police in an attempt to track him down.

They are appealing for anyone who may have been at Rugby railway station and who may have travelled on a train between 1100 BST and 1200 BST on 10 April to contact them.

Topen is considered to be highly dangerous and members of the public are being warned not to approach him.

He was jailed in 1992 for stabbing a man 19 times after he suspected him of having an affair with his girlfriend.

He had been at the Coventry Hospital since 7 April and police say he escaped after asking to use the toilet, despite prison guidelines dictating that he had to be handcuffed.

He is described as white, about 6 ft 6 in, of stocky build with short greyish hair and was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and blue jogging trousers.