Prisoner on the run after slipping armed escort at hospital

A prisoner is on the run after escaping from Salford Royal Hospital.

Jonathon Windsor, 31, 'escaped lawful custody' while being 'escorted by prison staff', Greater Manchester Police has confirmed. The public have been urged not to approach him and report any sightings immediately.

A major search was launched after Windsor, a prisoner at HMP Forest Bank, went on the run while under escort after being treated at the hospital site on Stott Lane. He is known to have links across the north west and south Manchester.

Residents near the hospital say they have been told by police that the prisoner was wearing a 'grey top' and was in 'handcuffs'.

The Manchester Evening News understands the prisoner was taken to Salford Royal for treatment but escaped, prompting a major search stretching as far as Sale.

The Category B men's private prison is situated in the Agecroft area of Pendlebury, in Salford, and is operated by Sodexo Justice Services. 

Police officers have been conducting enquiries and knocking on doors in the vicinity of Salford Royal Hospital this afternoon.

A number of police vehicles have been parked on Wilton Road, directly behind the hospital site, with uniformed officers speaking to local residents. One resident has said officers were asking locals if they had any doorbell or CCTV footage as part of enquiries.

A police helicopter has also been circling the area, near to the De La Salle playing fields, as officers were seen along nearby Lancaster Road and Wilton Road carrying out enquiries. Officers have also been conducting searches near Sale Water Park this afternoon.

One resident, who lives near to Salford Royal, saw the police helicopter circling and was told about the incident by a neighbour. He said: 'There have been police everywhere and I was told a prisoner has escaped and is on the run.'

Another resident living closeby to the hospital said they first heard the helicopter at around 1pm but 'thought nothing of it' initially. 

They claimed a neighbour informed them police had been knocking on doors nearby and disclosed that a prisoner had fled the hospital 'in a grey top and handcuffs'.

'We hear things all the time with the hospital being on the doorstep and the motorway nearby,' they said.

'It was only when I went outside at about 2.45 and a neighbour said the police had spoken to them and asked them if they had seen anything, as a prisoner had escaped wearing a grey top and still in handcuffs.

'There were police cars and and motorbikes everywhere and they were checking all the roads near Wilton Road and then checking the field at De La Salle.

'They were walking round the back of the building on the playing fields obviously looking for him. It's gone quieter now but we've not been told if the prisoner has been found or not.'

Video footage given to the Manchester Evening News shows officers conducting searches near Sale Water Park this afternoon. 

The person who took the footage says officers said the searches were being carried out in relation to a prisoner who had absconded.

Police vehicles have been seen parked up near Rifle Road - around six miles away from Salford Royal Hospital. Residents living in the Ellesmere Park area of Eccles, in Salford, also saw a police helicopter hovering overhead earlier this afternoon.

Further details about the prisoner and his offences have not yet been confirmed by Greater Manchester Police. The force has been contacted for a statement.

An HMP Forest Bank spokesperson said: 'We are aware of an incident involving an HMP Forest Bank prisoner who was under escort at a local hospital.

'We are working closely with Greater Manchester Police and cannot comment further at this time.'