Escaped prisoner Brockwell detained in Belfast

A notorious British prisoner who escaped after allegedly stabbing two prison officers and fleeing from Tallaght Hospital in Dublin has been recaptured.

Derek Brockwell, 53, was detained by Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers who used a Taser during the operation in Belfast.

He was being taken to Tallaght Hospital from high security Portlaoise Prison for a medical appointment when he made his reportedly violent escape earlier this week.

One of the prison officers accompanying him was stabbed with a knife in the stomach and underwent emergency surgery for his serious injuries, according to a spokesman for the Irish Prison Service.

Another officer was stabbed in the hand and possibly the face or neck during the incident.

It is believed Brockwell, who was handed 22 life sentences in the UK for armed robbery and had appeared as a wanted man on BBC’s Crimewatch show, was picked up after escaping from custody by an awaiting accomplice on a motorbike or in a car which sped away from the scene.

The serial criminal was two years into a seven-year sentence for armed robbery after he admitted holding up the Bank of Ireland in Blackrock, south Dublin, in October 2012.

He was also convicted of robbing a post office and a bookmakers as well as for firearms offences.

Brockwell landed in Ireland after failing to return to Kirkham Prison in England, where he was serving life for a series of offences but had been allowed out on day release for a work scheme.

He had carried out armed robberies on betting shops in London’s Marylebone and Paddington areas during September and October 1999.

PSNI Detective Sergeant Kenneth Leckey said: “A man unlawfully at large from the Republic of Ireland was located by police in Belfast city centre following a police operation this evening.

“A Taser was deployed during the operation and the Police Ombudsman has been informed.”