Murderer fails in outlandish bid to escape prison using helicopter

A MURDERER’S plot to escape from jail using a helicopter has been foiled by prison guards and the police, the British Ministry of Justice said.

Brian Lawrence, who was convicted of killing a friend of his ex-lover and hiring a hitman to kill two others, hoped to use the Isle of Wight Festival as cover once free from Parkhurst prison on the island.

The 67-year-old communicated with his accomplices using lemon juice as invisible ink and codes hidden in sudoku puzzles. In the letters he drew maps and gave encrypted instructions for his plan to bring a helicopter into a part of the prison grounds not protected by nets. He intended to fund the escape plan using the sale of a quarry in Newbury, Berkshire, worth £500,000 (€600,000).