Murderer on the run got stuck in the mud

Andrew William McVicar, 23, who is serving a life sentence for murder imposed by Luton Crown Court in 1999, appeared at Chichester County Court last Wednesday.

The court heard that McVicar had been celebrating Christmas last year with fellow inmates and drunk alcohol while in the prison '“ apparently his first alcoholic drink for eight years.

On his way back to his cell, he was stopped by a guard, breath-tested and told he would be put on report.

Prosecutor Daniel Sawyer told the court that after this, McVicar jumped the perimeter fence and made off down Ford Road towards Arundel, where he was stopped by police at 2.55am, just past Ford railway station.

The officers became suspicious after McVicar said he was going to Littlehampton, but was clearly walking in the wrong direction, and they radioed colleagues to run an identification check on him.

At this, McVicar made off across fields towards the River Arun but quickly became stuck up to his waist in mud.

The officers, themselves also hampered by the deep mud, pulled him out and arrested him.

Defending, Scott Brady QC said that McVicar "accepted that he should not have taken alcohol but he was carried away with the time of year and the company he was in".

He said that McVicar had jumped the fence due to a combination of the alcohol and the fear of being put on report.

Sentencing McVicar to an extra six months in prison, Judge Robin Barratt QC said that his exemplary record in prison so far and remorse for his actions were a major consideration in the sentence, which he said was at the "bottom end of the scale".

Mr Barratt said that the incident appeared to be "totally out of character" for McVicar but also said that the community should be assured that when someone is serving a prison sentence, they remain in prison.

Arundel's MP Nick Herbert said: "I think the public will continue to be concerned that prisoners are absconding from Ford, including very serious offenders.

"I am not satisfied that there is sufficient security at Ford and this just raises further concerns in my mind about the prison's management."

A prison service spokeswoman said: "Open prisons play a vital role in our commitment to reducing re-offending by giving suitable low risk prisoners the opportunity to find work, re-establish family ties and be tested in the community before they are released.

"All these components are essential for successful resettlement and an important factor in protecting the public."