TWO convicts per week walk out of open prisons and go on the run, figures obtained by The Sun on Sunday show.
Murderers are among 542 lags who absconded from Britain’s lowest security jails over five years.
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And 90 of the fugitives fled HMP Sudbury in Ashbourne, Derbys, which has been likened to a holiday camp by convicts.
Another 79 left HMP Kirkham, Lancs. Among them was Anthony Curry, 45, who was jailed for 12 years for the manslaughter of an 88-year-old.
According to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, 528 were returned to jail. Another 14 were at large.
A prison source said: “These figures are worrying – if not that surprising.
“Part of the problem is that jails are so full that a lot of inmates have to be housed in open conditions, particularly at the end of their sentences.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “Absconds from open prison have fallen, and the vast majority are apprehended quickly to face tougher, closed conditions.”
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