Drug Dealer who’d been on the run from Prison for 22 years is arrested at Channel Tunnel

A man accused of absconding from prison in 1995 has been arrested by Kent Police officers at the Channel Tunnel site in Coquelles. 57-year-old Michael John Ashworth of no fixed address appeared before 1 Magistrates on Monday 21 August charged with Escaping from Lawful Custody. He was arrested as he tried to board a Eurotunnel shuttle heading to the UK early on Sunday 20 August 2017. He absconded from HMP 1, an open prison in Derbyshire 22 years ago where he was serving a five year sentence for drug offences. He had 18 months left to serve when he failed to return having been released on a temporary licence. Michael Ashworth (54) failed to return from temporary leave on April 23, 1995. He was convicted on 1 29, 1994 and was serving five years’ imprisonment for drug offences. He is white and 5’ 7” tall. He is from the 1 and Colne areas of Lancashire. He has been remanded in custody.