Escaped murder suspect captured

Mr Claydon was arrested in south west London Friday afternoon

Police have arrested a murder suspect who escaped from a mental health unit in south-west London.

John Claydon, 28, was arrested by Metropolitan Police on Hampton Road in Twickenham after he escaped from Springfield Hospital late on Tuesday.

He was undergoing a psychiatric assessment in the hospital's mental unit when he fled with John Slavin, who is facing aggravated burglary charges.

Mr Slavin, who is originally from Bristol, remains at large, police say.

Hospital officials say the two men had outside help with their escape.

Mr Claydon is awaiting trial for the murder of Ben Foster, 22, in Bath in April.

Previous escapes

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.

Police say he is known to frequent Aberdeen.

The hospital, part of the South West London and St George's NHS Trust, has been at the centre of controversy over previous escapes.

The institution was criticised 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, after walking out of the hospital grounds.