Wanted criminal accused of seven sexual offences escapes from police at Ipswich Hospital

A convicted criminal suspected of carrying out seven sexual offences has escaped from police custody while receiving hospital treatment.

Daryl Taylor was initially arrested on Sunday after breaching the terms of his licence, having received a three-year prison sentence for actual bodily harm in July last year.

While in custody he was also charged with a number of sexual offences and was later taken to Ipswich Hospital for medical treatment.

While there, he managed to escape from police at around 10pm and officers have launched a manhunt.

Supt Andy Martin, from Suffolk Police, said the force was doing everything it could to find him.

"Events such as this are extremely rare, but as you would expect we have begun an investigation into how this occurred," he added.

"However, our priority at this time is to appeal to anyone with any information on where Daryl Taylor may be to contact us without delay.

Taylor, who should not be approached by the public, is white and around 5ft 9in tall. He is described as being of stocky build, with short brown hair and a beard.

The 33-year-old, who has links to the Ipswich and Hollesley areas, has tattoos on his face, neck, arms and legs, and was wearing a black and grey North Face jumper and matching jogging bottoms with black Adidas sliders.

Four people – a man and three women – have been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and taken into police custody for questioning as part of the investigation.

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