Davidson Road: Armed police and search dogs scour streets for prisoner who escaped custody in Edinburgh

Armed police and search dogs were seen scouring a residential street in Edinburgh to find an escaped prisoner. The convict, who is believed to still be on the run, absconded from the custody of prison officers while on escort in the Capital at around 5pm on Wednesday, November 21.

An eyewitness told the Scottish Sun that the escape sparked a major manhunt in the Davidson Road area, where officers were seen searching gardens and the grounds of the nearby Western General hospital.

The woman, who did not wish to be named, said: “I had no idea what was going on. The police were coming from all directions. It was like they had the hospital surrounded. From where I was I could see they had two police dogs out searching the grounds of the hospital and there were officers with guns.

“None of the officers would say what was going on but it was clearly something major.

“On the other streets officers were standing guard and I also spotted them searching a nearby cycle path. It was quite worrying and even now we don’t know if the prisoner has been found or not.”

A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: "I can confirm an individual escaped from the custody of prison staff, while on escort in Edinburgh, at around 5pm yesterday. Police Scotland were called immediately and enquiries are ongoing.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "We were made aware that an individual escaped from the custody of prison staff, while on escort in Edinburgh, at around 5pm yesterday. Enquiries are ongoing.”