Murder suspect escapes from unit

John Claydon, 28 (left), and John Slavin, 44, should not be approached

Police have begun searching for a murder suspect who has escaped from a mental health unit.

John Claydon, 28, escaped from the Springfield Hospital in Wandsworth, south London late on Tuesday evening, Metropolitan Police said.

He has been charged with a murder in Bath in April and was being held for a psychiatrist assessment.

He escaped along with another man, John Slavin, 44, who is facing charges of aggravated burglary.

Outside help

Police said they were using helicopters, dogs and ground search units in a bid to find the two men, who were reported missing just after 2200 GMT.

A hospital spokeswoman said it appears the pair may have had outside help in escaping.

Police said Mr Claydon was known to have associates in the Kensington and Chelsea areas of London, while Mr Slavin was originally from Bristol, but is also known to frequent Aberdeen.

The public are warned not to approach either man, but to contact police immediately if they see them.

Mr Claydon is described as just under 6ft (1.82m) tall with cropped dark brown hair. He has several scars on his face and a gold tooth at the top left of his front teeth.

Mr Slavin is 6ft 3in (1.97m) of thin build with a goatee beard. He was wearing a black jumper, black coat, blue jeans and a black beanie hat when he escaped.

Mr Claydon is charged, along with another man, with the murder of 22-year-old Ben Foster who was found with serious stab wounds in a house in Ringswell Gardens in Bath.

He is scheduled to stand trial in March.

A spokeswoman for South West London and St George's NHS Trust, which runs the mental health unit, said they believe the two men had help with their escape.

"It appears that they escaped with external assistance. The matter was reported immediately to the police. An investigation is under way."

Previous escapes

The hospital has been at the centre of controversy over prior escapes.

The institution was condemned after one of its patients, John Barrett, killed a cyclist in Richmond Park in September 2004.

The paranoid schizophrenic stabbed retired banker Denis Finnegan, 50, to death after walking out of the hospital grounds.

An inquiry, headed by mental health solicitor Robert Robinson, found carers placed too much emphasis on Barrett's wishes and did not properly assess the risk he posed.

In December 2006, two patients fled more than 400 miles after escaping from the secure mental health unit.

The two, one of whom was rapist Anthony Rowley, were arrested in Edinburgh after being on the loose for about six hours.