A CONVICTED murderer who went on the run from a Suffolk prison after evading guards during a day trip to a shopping centre has been arrested in Spain, it emerged last night.

A CONVICTED murderer who went on the run from a Suffolk prison after evading guards during a day trip to a shopping centre has been arrested in Spain, it emerged last night.

Former market trader Mark Ryder, 35, was arrested in Malaga and has 14 days to appeal against extradition proceedings to bring him back to Britain, police said.

Ryder had served 12 years of a 15-year sentence at HMP Highpoint jail at Stradishall, near Haverhill, when he made off during an escorted trip to the Grafton Centre in Cambridge on October 12.

It was the second time Ryder had escaped from jail.

He was originally jailed for theft. But a judge imposed a life sentence 13 years ago when a court heard how Ryder shot dead a love rival after escaping from prison guards during a trip to Brighton, East Sussex.

A Cambridgeshire Police spokeswoman said last night: “A prisoner who disappeared from the Cambridge Grafton Centre on October 12 has been arrested in Malaga following an investigation led by Cambridgeshire Constabulary.

“Mark Ryder, 35, failed to return to HMP Highpoint in Suffolk where he had served 12 years of a 15-year sentence for murder following an escorted acclimatisation trip to Cambridge.

“Following a multi-force investigation led by Detective Chief Inspector Dave Sargent from Cambridgeshire Constabulary, Mark Ryder was traced to Malaga in Spain.

“A European arrest warrant was granted and in the last few days the Spanish authorities have arrested Mr Ryder.”

DCI Sargent said: “This investigation has been a multi-agency approach that has seen us working with colleagues in the country and abroad.

“Thanks to a thorough police investigation and with the help of our colleagues in Spain we have been able to trace and arrest Mr Ryder.”

Prisons Minister Gerry Sutcliffe had previously admitted that the abscond was poorly handled and disciplinary action against the guard who let Ryder escape had been launched.

Ryder had been serving a jail term at Lewes Prison in Brighton for stealing cars when he ran away from guards during a boating trip in 1991.

He evaded capture until 1993 when he shot and killed his childhood pal, Stuart McCue, outside a social club in the seaside town.

During Ryder's murder trial the court heard how the pair became enemies when Ryder developed a relationship with the mother of one of Mr McCue's children.

He was two years away from completing his life sentence when he escaped from HMP Highpoint three months ago.

Diana Cole, the sister of Mr McCue, said she was having “nightmares” following his escape.

In an interview with the BBC at the time, she said: “I can't sleep. None of the family can. I'm scared. These nightmares have brought it all back again.”