ANGRY residents in Princetown are concerned about security at HMP Dartmoor following a prison break-out on Monday night.

Three prisoners escaped but one was recaptured injured shortly after being discovered by a former prison officer.

Police launched a huge operation to recapture the men, which included the police helicopter, tracker dogs, road blocks and search teams.

Sgt Paul Hunter, from Tavistock Police Station, was co-ordinating the operation from an office at Dartmoor Prison. He said a breach of security was noticed at around 7.30pm. Following a check it was discovered three prisoners were missing.

There had been a number of unconfirmed sightings which were being investigated. Later sightings came from as far as Bath and Birmingham, but all proved to be negative. Road blocks were stood down at midnight on Monday and extra police drafted in to carry out house-to-house enquiries on Tuesday. They were also liaising with other forces.

The two men still at large ? from Taunton and Bristol ? were not believed to be dangerous. Simon Allen, 28, was serving 18 months for burglary and Shaun Dibble, 25, three years, also for burglary.

Retired prison officer Jimmy Sutton, whose home is about 200 yards from the prison wall, apprehended the injured escapee.

His wife, Judy Sutton, said he noticed someone crawling along the pavement. When he went outside the man asked her husband to call an ambulance as he thought he had broken his foot.

Mr Sutton asked how he injured the foot ? and was told ?by jumping the wall?. He discovered the man came from B wing and contacted prison staff, who initially insisted no-one was missing.

Mrs Sutton said her husband told them: ?I?ve got one on my doorstep.?

The man ? 22 year-old Mark Picton, serving 15 months for aggravated vehicle taking ? was taken to Derriford Hospital in handcuffs by ambulance.

?My husband has been retired a year, and they have changed the prisoners? leisure wear in that time. It used to be red and blue track suits, but this man was wearing a grey track suit without any writing on it. He could have been anyone,? said Mrs Sutton.

She said they were ?not very happy? with the security.

?Officers used to walk around, but that?s all stopped. We?ve lived here 20-odd years and never known it before. ?I?m scared it could happen anytime. Anyone who wants to jump can. My husband was furious and phoned someone high-up to ask what was going on,? Mrs Sutton said.

Local postmistress Heather Stanley witnessed the apprehension of the escapee. Mrs Stanley ? whose post office appropriately offers leaflets on home security and bogus callers ? expressed the concerns of many residents over the incident.

?Now the prison is decategorised they?ve got freedom to roam, and they decided to roam outside the wall. When you think they?re supposed to be locked up and we?re supposed to be safe in our houses, we feel a bit upset about it,? she said.

On Tuesday morning police were carrying out investigations in the car park of the Fox Tor Café, where a caravan and car had been broken into.

The caravan?s owner Phil Hampton said the two prisoners had made a cup of tea in it. He said they stole equipment to break into the car, which they attempted to hot-wire ? unsuccessfully.

Although prisoners have absconded from working parties this is the first bone fide escape from inside the prison for many years. One famous escapee was Mad Axeman Frank Mitchell who escaped in December 1966.

Author of two volumes on the history of Dartmoor Prison, Ron Jay ? once a prison officer himself ? said he could not remember any true breakouts since the early 1970s, when three prisoners escaped.

But he stressed that as inmates were now Category C as opposed to Category B there was no danger to the public. ?I?d send my granny to pick them up,? he said.

The prison was downgraded in 2001, causing some difficulties in industrial relations. Later that year it was heavily criticised in a Chief Inspector?s report. The prison service has five months remaining to prepare an in-house bid to continue to run the prison. If this is rejected by the Home Office, private sector companies will be invited to bid for the contract.

An investigation examining how the escape took place, prison security and the prisoners? backgrounds started yesterday morning ? lead by the South West?s most senior governor, Kevin Lockyer, of Bristol Prison.

l As the Times went to press searches of the immediate area had been wound down while enquiries were continuing with Avon and Somerset Police and West Midlands Police regarding the possibilities of any contacts the escapees may have in these areas.

The police are appealing for anyone who saw the men to call them on 08705 777444. Simon Allen is described as white, about 5ft 5ins, heavily built with brown hair. Shaun Dibble is white, about 5ft 10ins, with short, brown hair, blue eyes and a scar on his chin.