A SECOND murderer was on the loose last night after fleeing while on a trip from a Suffolk jail - just weeks after another killer went missing from the county.

A SECOND murderer was on the loose last night after fleeing while on a trip from a Suffolk jail - just weeks after another killer went missing from the county.

Michael Walsh, 57, vanished while on temporary release licence from Hollesley Bay open prison, near Woodbridge.

The convicted killer was given permission to visit Doncaster, in South Yorkshire. Although he arrived at the address on Monday, he has since disappeared.

Police last night appealed for anyone with information about Walsh's whereabouts to contact them.

He is described as white, 5ft 9ins, of slight build, with black hair and blue eyes. Both of his arms are covered with tattoos and he has a tattoo of an eagle on his chest.

Walsh is the second lifer to go missing from a Suffolk jail in as many months, with gun-killer Mark Ryder still evading capture.

The 37-year-old gave prison guards the slip while on a shopping trip to Cambridge from Highpoint Prison, in Stradishall, on October 12.

Detectives investigating Ryder's disappearance from The Grafton shopping centre, in the centre of Cambridge, do not believe he is still in the area but said they are continuing in their bid to find him.

Ryder had been jailed for shooting down his childhood pal Stuart McCue outside a social club in Brighton in 1993.

He was two years away from completing his life sentence when he escaped. It was the second time he had gone missing from custody, after running away from prison guards while on a boating trip from Lewes Prison, near Brighton, when he serving a jail-term for stealing cars in 1991.

Ryder's disappearance has prompted a Home Office inquiry, which has yet to be completed.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Walsh or Ryder is asked to call Suffolk police on 01473 613500 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

mark.bulstrode@eadt.co.uk