Manhunt launched for arsonist who escaped from Suffolk's Hollesley Bay prison

Police have launched a manhunt after a convicted arsonist went missing from prison.

Leslie Smith, 53, was declared missing while on temporary release from Hollesley Bay prison in Suffolk just before 5pm on Wednesday.

Smith, previously from the Herefordshire area, had been serving an Indeterminate Sentence for Public Protection (ISPP) for arson.

ISPPs are open-ended sentences which can only be brought to an end when the Parole Board is satisfied the prisoner no longer needs to be confined for the safety of the public.

Suffolk Police has not confirmed when Smith was jailed, but ISPPs were only available for courts to pass between 2005 and 2012.

He is described as being 5ft 6ins tall with dark hair, brown eyes and is of a small build.

He also has a moustache, facial hair and wears glasses, said Suffolk Police.

A research paper for the House of Commons library said ISPPs were originally "designed to detain offenders who posed a significant risk of causing serious harm to the public through further serious offences in prison until they no longer posed such a risk".

Anyone with information should call Suffolk Police on 101, quoting CAD 302 of 6 September.

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