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Search forStab murder suspect caught
Friday, November 21, 2008, 17:26
Last night Scotland Yard announced they had arrested Johnny Claydon, who is due to stand trial for the murder of Bath shopworker Ben Foster next March.
Claydon, who went on the run from Springfield Hospital in London, was located in the capital yesterday afternoon.
Officers seized him at 2pm as he walked along Hampton Road, Twickenham, and immediately placed him in custody at a south London Police Station.
However, another man who absconded with Claydon has yet to be traced.
John Slavin, 44, who was on remand for aggravated burglary, is originally from the Bristol area.
Detectives have warned the public not to approach him and to dial 999 if they spot him.
Slavin is white, 6ft 3in tall and of thin build.
He was wearing dark clothes and a black beanie hat at the time of his escape.
He also had a goatee beard. His hair is short and dark. He has tattoos on his left arm and hand.
He is known to associate in the Kensington and Chelsea and Aberdeen areas.
Meanwhile Bath MP Don Foster has raised the case of the escaped suspects with Health Secretary Alan Johnson.
Claydon and Slavin escaped through a hole in the hospital fence in the latest in a long line of security breaches at the unit.
Ben Foster's mother has also attacked the judicial system for allowing Claydon to escape.
It was revealed in September that 116 patients have escaped from psychiatric hospitals in the past year and Mr Foster has called on the cabinet minister to outline the security measures in place at the unit.
In a letter to Mr Johnson, the MP says: "As you can understand, the relatives of Ben Foster are deeply angered and upset by the news of Claydon's escape.
"As you will also be aware, this is not the first time that Springfield has been criticised for lax security.
"While I fully support the treatment of offenders with psychiatric problems in hospitals rather than in prisons, I am concerned by the evidence of frequent escapes."
The South West London and St George's Mental Health Trust, which runs Springfield said it appeared that a hole was cut from the outside in the double mesh perimeter fence to the side of the ward garden.
The patients both escaped while in the garden during the 10pm fresh air break.
An investigation is now under way at the trust to determine how the prisoners were able to escape.
Former Ralph Allen School pupil Ben, 22, died after he was found lying in a pool of blood in Ringswell Gardens.
Anyone who sees Slavin is asked to call 999 immediately.
Anyone with any other information which could help police enquiries should call the Metropolitan Police on 0208 247 8734.
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