Two convicted rapists who escaped from prison caught by police after public appeal

John-Paul Knowlson, 30, and Stuart O’Neill, 29 broke out of HMP Leyhill on Wednesday by forcing a door

John-Paul Knowlson and Stuart O’Neill absconded from HMP Leyhill in Gloucestershire (Somerset and Avon Police)

Police have recaptured two convicted rapists who escaped from an open prison.

John-Paul Knowlson, 30, and Stuart O'Neill, 29, broke out of HMP Leyhill in South Gloucestershire at about 2am on Wednesday by forcing a door.

Their escape prompted a nationwide manhunt with Somerset and Avon Police warning the public not to approach the prisoners and instead ring 999.

Following a public appeal, the inmates were arrested in the Patchway area – about 10 miles (16km) from the prison – in the early hours of Thursday morning.

"We can confirm John-Paul Knowlson and Stuart O’Neill have been arrested and are currently in custody,” a police statement said. "We'd like to thank everyone who helped share our appeal."

A spokesman declined to comment on the circumstances leading to their recapture.

Knowlson from Bristol was convicted of rape at Bristol Crown Court in 2011, while O'Neill, from Lancashire, was convicted of rape, burglary and theft in 2009. They were both transferred to Leyhill prison last year.

Both men were serving indeterminate sentences for their offences.

HMP Leyhill, which houses 515 prisoners, is the only minimum-security prison in the south west.

While UK prisons breaks are rare, there have been a few notable escapes that made headlines.

In 2012, convicted murdered John Massey escaped from London’s Pentonville prison by hiding in the prison gym before climbing onto the roof and scaling the wall using a makeshift rope fashioned from netting. He spent 48 hours on the run before being arrested in Kent.

Two years later robber Michael Wheatley was serving a life sentence at Standford Hill prison on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent when he disappeared while on day release.

He was on the run for five days before being arrested in Tower Hamlets, east London.