Police hunt for escaped prisoner

22 February 2019, 16:21

Police have named a prisoner who escaped custody while being transferred between prisons.

Phillip Barrett, 37, escaped on the M32 while being transported from HMP Bristol on Thursday afternoon.

Detective Chief Inspector Ed Yaxley said: “We’ve been utilising every resource we have at our disposal to track Barrett down since his escape yesterday afternoon.

“We’re now turning to the public for help and asking for anyone who sees him to contact us.

“If someone doesn’t want to speak to the police we’d ask they instead contact Crimestoppers anonymously.

“You don’t have to provide your name and you could earn yourself a reward of £1,000 if the information you provide is of significant use.”

DCI Yaxley added: “While Barrett is not thought to be a risk to the general public, we’d advise people not to approach him directly.”

Barrett is white, 6ft 1ins tall, of large build with short brown hair and brown eyes.

He has a mole on the right hand side of his face and several tattoos, including one of the word “Hollie” on his wedding ring finger and “BS4” on his right wrist.

Barrett, who has links to south Bristol, may be walking with a limp.

Anyone who sees him is asked call 999 providing the call handler with the reference 5219038857. Anyone with information about where he might be is asked to call 101 quoting the same reference.

Alternatively, the independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted 100 per cent anonymously on 0800 555 111.