Escaped prisoner who cops feared had fled to Spain caught in Nottingham

Haroon Ahmed, 26, who is serving time for armed robbery, casually walked out of HMP Dovegate near Uttoxeter last week. Detective launched a nationwide manhunt for the fugitive with fears he may have gone abroad. Today, cops confirmed the offender had been arrested in near Nottingham and returned to custody. Ahmed reportedly said he wanted to escape jail to "test out the security".

''I thought 'I'll give it a go'- and walked out of the door. That's how easy it was. That's how easy it was,'' he told a Sunday newspaper.

It was rumoured that Ahmed had flown to Marbella on the Costa del Sol following his escape last week. A statement from Staffordshire Police issued today said:

"Haroon Ahmed, who is from the Derby area, was arrested this morning in the Nottingham area and has been taken into custody. We would like to thank the public and media for their help in sharing our appeals to find Ahmed. Our social media posts reached just under 300,000 people."

He had been missing since around 4.15pm on Wednesday, police said.

Police said his whereabouts while on the run will form part of the police investigation.