A convicted sex offender has admitted to absconding from prison before abducting a young girl from her school in court today.

John Harris, who is 36 years old, left HMP Leyhill on October 16 and kidnapped the girl from a school nearby before being captured, Bristol crown court heard today.

He was charged with escaping from lawful custody, kidnapping, and breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order when he appeared in court on October 17 following his capture.

The order prevented him from communicating with children aged under the age of 16, which he was prohibited from doing by a sexual offences prevention order made by Woolwich Crown Court in 2009.

The judge asked for time to consider how dangerous Harris is before sentencing him.

Adjourning the court for sentencing until November 23, the judge said that a custodial sentence was 'inevitable'.

Harris was remanded in custody after his arrest and will remain in prison until he returns to court to hear the judge's decision later this month.

Harris is one of a number of prisoners to escape from HMP Leyhill in recent years.

In August John-Paul Knowlson and Stuart O’Neill, two convicted rapists, absconded before being caught by police.

The pair are believed to have exited the prison after forcing a door.

Convicted killer Keith Whitehouse absconded from the prison in February but was arrested after being spotted by a member of the public.

Whitehouse is currently serving a life sentence for manslaughter, committed in 1991, when he was given a home release from prison. At the time he was serving a sentence for kidnap.

Two sexual offenders who absconded from the prison in 2017 were caught five days later in Humberside.

In total nine prisoners absconded from the jail last year.

Responding to the latest incident a Prison Service spokesperson said: “We understand the concern this incident may cause and public protection will always be our top priority.

“Absconds from open prison are extremely rare and we work closely with police to ensure prisoners are recaptured.

“Those who abscond serve extra time behind bars in a closed prison. We cannot comment further while legal proceedings are ongoing.”

Leyhill is the only minimum-security prison in the South West.

As an open jail prisoners are trusted to serve their sentences with minimal supervision.

Prisoners are expected to assume more responsibility and make informed decisions for themselves.

Leyhill offers training opportunities in the community where prisoners are permitted to leave the site to access work experience and improve their chance of gaining employment.