Two Men On The Run After Escaping London Prison

Two men are on the run after escaping from Pentonville prison in London, the Ministry of Justice has announced. Prison officers realised the men missing this morning after finding two mannequins in their beds, the BBC reported. The police were then called at 11:44 GMT. One of the escapees, who are 28 and 31 years old, is reportedly serving a "very long sentence". They are thought to have broken free by cutting through cell bars with diamond-tipped cutting equipment and then scaling the perimeter wall, reported the BBC. A spokesperson for Pentonville prison said: "Public protection is our top priority and we take escapes from custody extremely seriously. "We are working closely with the police and are urgently investigating the matter." The last inmate to escape from the prison was convicted murderer John Massey, who escaped in 2012 by sneaking onto a roof after a gym session and climbing an eight metre (25ft) wall using a rope made from netting. He was found in Kent two days later and arrested. Only two prison escapes were recorded in England and Wales in 2015-16, and eight prisoners escaped while being transported in the same period. Pentonville prison, located on Caledonian Road in Islington, north London, holds more than 1,200 men and first opened in 1842. Oscar Wilde was an inmate there in 1895.