A PROLIFIC robber who escaped from an open prison in Aylesbury and travelled to Oxford should not have been moved there if he was a danger to the public, union bosses have warned.

John Rooney, 47, who is half way through a 24-year jail sentence for kidnap and robbery, walked out of HMP Springhill on Monday this week.

He got onto a bus from Bicester, travelling towards Oxford. Thames Valley Police warned the public not to approach Rooney because they believed the public could be at risk of harm.

Greater Manchester Police are also involved in the investigation, as Rooney has links to the Manchester area.

He was jailed in 2003 for a string of offences and had been moved to the open prison where long-term prisoners are prepared for release.

A spokesman for the Prison Officers Association (POA) Glyn Travis said the union has repeatedly raised concerns with the Ministry of Justice about dangerous inmates being moved to open prisons.

He said: "Anyone who's in an open prison shouldn't be considered a risk to the public, they shouldn't be there if they are.

"We believe that prisoners who still pose a risk to the public are being sent to the open prison estate too early and therefore when they abscond the police immediately alert the public that this person is a danger.

"Our concern is not the number of prisoners absconding, this is going down, but the type of prisoner absconding."

He added that open prisons play a key role in the justice system, but that prisoners must have first served time in closed prisons.

Rooney was sentenced to 20 years in prison at York Crown Court for offences including robbery, burglary and use of a firearm in May 2003.

Just months later he was handed a further four years at Manchester Crown Court for robbery, kidnap and false imprisonment committed in the Manchester area, while a 20 further offences of robbery and burglary were also taken into consideration.

Rooney left HMP Springhill in Aylesbury to take a lift to Bicester at around 6.30am on Monday and was last seen on a bus travelling towards Oxford just half an hour later.

Chief Inspector Jim Troisi from Oldham police station said: "Whilst there is no intelligence at present to suggest that Rooney is in the Greater Manchester area, it is possible he may come back to the region due to links to Manchester, including family links in Oldham.

"If any members of the public see Rooney, then I would ask them please do not approach him directly, but call 999 immediately.

"And to anyone that may be reading this that knows Rooney and has any information on his current whereabouts, please call police on 101."

Rooney has tattoos on both his hands and fingers as well as up his right arm, and possibly other tattoos on his face.

Anyone who sees Rooney is urged not to approach him, and asked to call 999 immediately.