A violent criminal who managed to walk out of a high-security prison says he has fled to the Costa del Sol.
Haroon Ahmed has been the subject of a manhunt since absconding from HMP Dovegate in Staffordshire on Wednesday afternoon.
The 26-year-old, revealed he had jokingly asked an officer if he could go home at the end of visiting time.
He could not believe it when he was then escorted to the gate.
Ahmed confirmed he travelled by road to Spain and is now deciding whether to follow legal advice to hand himself in.
“Nothing was planned,” said Ahmed, who was jailed for robbery. “I just got up when the visit was ending.
“I said to a prison officer ‘Is it okay for me to go home?’ as a joke.
“I just walked off with all the visitors and went through the security procedures. A prison officer escorted me to the gate.
“I know what I did was wrong. I just took an opportunity but I don’t want to be looking over my shoulder. I can’t run and hide forever.”
Sky’s Harriet Hadfield also spoke to the escapee’s mum.
“She said he’s not as violent a man as he’s being portrayed in much of the media,” Hadfield said.
“She also said he’d never been on holiday so she couldn’t believe he’d ended up in Spain as he didn’t have a passport.”
Ahmed managed to leave the prison, which is run by private firm Serco, despite being on a “watch list”.
His brother, Majeed Ahmed, 25, of Clarence Road, Derby, has been charged with assisting a prisoner in escaping from prison.
He has been released on bail to appear before magistrates in Burton on 25 June.
Michael Guy, Serco’s director at HMP Dovegate, said: “We are taking this extremely seriously and I have commissioned an urgent investigation into the circumstances of the escape.
“We are working closely with the police to identify what went wrong and to address any failings.”
HMP Dovegate was criticised by the Chief Inspector of Prisons in a report published on Friday.
It found there were high levels of violence in the jail and said visiting arrangements were poor.
