A PRISONER who fled from a Warrington prison and caused a major manhunt to be launched has been jailed for longer.

Jonathan Simpson was last seen at HM Prison Thorn Cross in Appleton Thorn at around 9am on Wednesday, March 23.

He was in the custodial setting after being convicted of a burglary offence, but he absconded from the open prison that day.

The defendant was caught however and later charged with escaping from lawful custody, and he appeared to be sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday, October 11.

The court heard how police carried out a number of enquiries in a bid to trace the 42-year-old, including the use of the police dog unit.

They also stopped the M56 and M6 at junction 20 for Lymm during the evening in a bid to catch him, causing long delays for motorists. He was later located and arrested in Manchester.

It was explained how Simpson, from the Bradford area, was serving a prison sentence of five and a half years handed down by Bradford Crown Court in February 2018.

He absconded from HM Prison Thorn Cross

He absconded from HM Prison Thorn Cross

This followed ‘Hanoi-style’ burglaries, where a criminal gains entry to the victim's home by brute force and steals the car keys, named after a police Operation Hanoi created to stamp it out.

Simpson was already on-licence from prison when he committed a string of burglaries and attempted burglaries, for which he has previous convictions, in July and August 2017.

The court at the time was told how the ‘prolific’ burglar showed ‘all the hallmarks of professionalism’, stealing cars and high-value electrical equipment.

Simpson was caught for the burglaries as he tried to run away from police while in a garden.

Before sentencing him, a judge told him: “There is no getting away from the word appalling when it comes to your record for dishonesty.”

At Chester Crown Court, for escaping from lawful custody, Simpson, who's address was given as HM Prison Moorland near Doncaster, was sentenced to an additional nine months in prison.