Armed robber on the run after prison van hold-up

A 'violent' armed robber was on the run last night after escaping from a prison van held up at gunpoint by a masked gang.

In a pre-planned ambush Craig Hickinbottom, 24, escaped after the vehicle taking him from court to jail was stopped by two armed men. The van's staff were told they would be shot if they refused to hand Hickinbottom over.

The armed robber was being returned to Blakenhurst jail in Worcestershire from a routine appearance at nearby Redditch Magistrates' Court on a charge of driving while disqualified.

He was the sole occupant of the Reliance prison van, which was forced to a halt by an Audi car shortly after 1pm yesterday.

The vehicle was less than 400 yards away from the jail when its drivers were forced to release Hickinbottom, who is partway through a five year, 11 month sentence for robbery, was bundled out and escaped in the Audi which was last seen travelling north on the M5 near Redditch. No shots were fired and no one was injured.

The car was last seen travelling north on the M5 and police are appealing for witnesses.

A West Mercia Police spokesman said: 'Members of the public who see the men are asked not to approach them but to call 999 immediately.'

Detective Chief Inspector Kevin Purcell said two men wearing balaclavas used a gun to threaten staff in the van. 'He (Hickinbottom) is a violent individual, he is serving a prison sentence for armed robbery, his escape today was facilitated by people with a handgun,' he added.

'He is very dangerous. The drivers of the van were threatened with a firearm. This is an unusual crime and I think it is audacious.

'I would urge anyone who may have information or who may know where this man is to contact us as a matter of urgency so that we can put him back where he belongs.'

The convict is white, 5ft 11in, with blue eyes, close-cropped ginger hair and is currently clean-shaven. He escaped in a blue or silver car. Hickinbottom speaks with a Midlands accent and was wearing light blue denim jeans and a light-coloured top. Blakenhurst is a category B jail where inmates are deemed to pose a risk to public safety.

The fugitive, from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, was jailed for two armed robberies committed in Stourbridge and Kingswinford in 2002,

Hickinbottom was released from prison on licence in June but recalled a few days later. He has family and criminal connections in the Black Country area of the West Midlands.