Prison escapee still ON THE LOOSE more than 48 hours after jumping fence

The man - dressed in black - climbed a barbed-wire-topped fence and then jumped down.

He then got into in a waiting vehicle and was driven at speed from the premises.

At the time, the Ministry of Justice told GB News that it was "urgently working with the police to recapture this prisoner".

Now, 48 hours on, Lancashire Police say they have "no new update" on the situation.

Although HMP Kirkham is a Category D Open prison, and security is therefore less than at other, higher category facilities, prisoners are still obligated to follow certain rules.

The Ministry of Justice said that those who break these rules "face tough consequences including being moved to closed conditions and extra jail time".

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HMP Kirkham also confirmed on Tueday that it was "urgently working" with Lancashire Police to "recapture" the prisoner.

A spokesman for the Category D prison added: "Absconds are rare, but those who break the rules face tough consequences including being moved to closed conditions and extra jail time."

The escapee managed to get out of HMP Kirkham on the same day as Labour rolled out the second stage of its early release plan to cut overcrowding.

A whopping 1,100 inmates were released on October 22, joining 1,700 who were freed early on September 10.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans to cut the proportion of sentences served by inmates from 50 per cent to 40 per cent in July.

The decision was made after overcrowding in British jails pushed prisons to the "point of collapse".

The prison population of England and Wales hit a record high of 88,521 on September 6 this year, just days ahead of the first wave of releases.

However, the figure dropped to 86,333 just one week later.

The figure has steadily increased to 87,028 on October 18.