William Smith, 35, who goes by the name Billy, has handed himself in after being released in error by staff at HMP Wandsworth on the same day he was handed a 45-month sentence
A prisoner who was accidentally released from HMP Wandsworth has handed himself in.
Police launched a major manhunt on Monday after it emerged 35-year-old William Smith, who goes by the name Billy, was released in error from the London prison.
He had been sentenced to 45 months for multiple fraud offences at Croydon Crown Court just a few hours earlier, appearing via live video link from the prison. He was later freed by mistake, and officers said they were carrying out “a number of enquiries at pace” to locate him.
Today, photographs showed Smith flanked by prison officers after he handed himself in.
A separate manhunt remains under way for an Algerian convicted sex offender who was wrongly released from prison last week. Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, was serving a sentence at HMP Wandsworth in south-west London for trespass with intent to steal, but had previously also been convicted for indecent exposure.
He was freed from the jail, which was put into special measures last year, on October 29, but the mistake was only reported to the Metropolitan Police on Tuesday, the force said.
This is a breaking news story. Follow us on Google News, Flipboard, Apple News, Twitter, Facebook or visit The Mirror homepage.
