A prisoner who went on the run for two weeks after absconding from a Suffolk prison has been jailed for eight months.

Twenty-four-year-old Danny Johnson, who was serving a six year sentence for offences of burglary and arson, walked out of  Hollesley Bay prison, near Woodbridge on May 12 this year.

 Johnson, of no fixed address, admitted escape from lawful custody and was given an eight month prison sentence which will run consecutively to his current sentence which is due to end in October next year.

The court heard that prison staff became aware of a plan by Johnson and two other prisoners to abscond and put the other two prisoners in secure accommodation but couldn’t locate Johnson.

It was discovered that he had walked out of the prison at 6.40am on May 12 and he was on the run for two weeks before being arrested on May 26 by police who stopped a van on the outskirts of Bury St Edmunds.

The court heard that Johnson said he had been bullied and suffered with mental health issues in prison and had made the foolish decision to abscond.

He said he had slept in woodland while he was on the run.