Prisoner attempts escape from court

A prisoner at Airdrie Sheriff Court sparked a security scare last week after vanishing from his cell.

The man was behind bars in the holding area of court after being brought from prison by security firm G4S.

But custody staff were horrified when they opened the cell door to find he had apparently vanished into thin air.

Sources claim an investigation led to the discovery that he had managed to remove a light fitting and squeeze himself into the roof space above the cell.

Police officers raced to the scene and surrounded the court as staff searched for the escapee before he was found within the roof space of the cell.

After a short stand-off the prisoner surrendered when he was talked back down by staff, and was placed in another secure cell.

Business within the court carried on uninterrupted following on the incident.

A source told the Advertiser:“This is probably one of the worst things imaginable that could happen in a court.

“Prisoners are brought in and out of the court every day without incident but it seems this man managed to find a way out.

“It caused a bit of panic when the cell door was opened and he was nowhere to be seen; it was like Harry Houdini.

“These cells are supposed to be totally vandal-proof so questions will have to be asked about how this was able to happen.

“Luckily it wasn’t a lengthy incident and he was still within the confines of the court building but it still required a serious response by staff and police officers in such an emergency situation.”

A Scottish Courts Service spokesman said:“SCTS can confirm that there was an incident in the cell area of Airdrie Sheriff Court.

“It is now under police investigation and we cannot comment further.”

A Police Scotland spokeswoman confirmed they had been alerted to the incident.

She added:“We received a report of an attempted escape from Airdrie Sheriff Court.

“Officers attended and the man was returned to custody by security staff.”

G4S prisoner escorting operations director, Willie Galloway, said:“There was an incident at Airdrie Sheriff Court when a person in custody briefly entered the roof space within the cell unit before coming down when requested to do so by officers.

“The matter was reported to the police and will be investigated further.

“At no point was the person in custody outwith the cell holding area.”