Prisoner still at large after mistaken release

James Taplin was released from custody by mistake

A prisoner accidentally released from jail remains at large more than two weeks after authorities noticed he was missing.

James Taplin, 24, from Cinderford in Gloucestershire was being held at Hewell Prison in Worcestershire.

Charged with aggravated burglary and malicious wounding, he was due in crown court on 14 October but it emerged he had been released in error.

An arrest warrant was issued on 4 October, but he has yet to be traced.

Taplin has made contact with his solicitor.

An investigation has been started into how the error occurred, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said.

An MoJ spokesman said: "Releases in error are incredibly rare and we are working with police to return James Taplin to custody."

Mr Taplin was being held at HMP Hewell on burglary and wounding charges

Mr Taplin was remanded into custody after appearing at Cheltenham Magistrate's Court on 24 September.

He was arrested over an incident in Coleford in the Forest of Dean, two days earlier.

At Gloucester Crown Court, Mr Taplin's solicitor, Sarah Jenkins, said that since his release, Taplin had been in touch with her firm to let them know what had happened, but there had been no further contact.

"He is still unlawfully at large at the moment, albeit that seems to have been a prison error rather than his own doing," she said.

She said he was unlikely to have "the means or wherewithal" to have gone far from his home territory, the Forest of Dean.