Escaped prisoner Shaun Walmsley caught after 18 months on the run

A convicted murderer who escaped during a prison visit to a hospital has been arrested after being on the run for more than a year.

Shaun Walmsley, 29, was sprung from custody during a visit to Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool in February 2017.

Merseyside Police said he was arrested in Leeds on Tuesday.

He later appeared at Liverpool and Knowsley Magistrates' Court charged with escape from lawful custody.

With shoulder length brown hair and a beard, he appeared by video-link and spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth.

Shaun Walmsley was serving a life sentence for murder when he escaped

He was remanded in custody to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on 19 September.

Walmsley was serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 30 years.

He escaped when two men armed with a knife and a gun confronted guards outside the Liverpool hospital during a scheduled visit from HMP Walton.

Police previously issued CCTV images showing the scene of Walmsley's escape

A gold-coloured Volvo used as a getaway car was later found abandoned in the Fazakerley area of Liverpool.

A reward of £20,000 of Walmsley's own money was offered by police for information. The money was seized following his arrest and conviction for the murder.

Walmsley was arrested after armed officers stopped a car in the Harehills area of Leeds.

Detectives also worked with officers from the National Crime Agency and police forces in Europe to locate Walmsley.

He was sentenced to life in prison in June 2015 for his involvement in the murder of 33-year-old Anthony Duffy in 2014.

Mr Duffy, 33, was lured to an address in Aintree in May 2014 and "repeatedly stabbed".