A prisoner who walked out of jail and visited his family in Oxfordshire, then handed himself in three days later, has been given an extra two months inside.

Sophie Eloquin, prosecuting, told Oxford Crown Court yesterday that James Pearson, of High Street, Culham, walked out of Leyhill Open Prison, in Gloucestershire, on June 22 after being caught with two mobile phones. They are banned under prison rules.

He hitchhiked home to see his girlfriend and three children, then handed himself in at Abingdon police station on June 25.

Pearson was serving a three-and-a-half year sentence for burglary, taking a motor vehicle and driving without insurance while unqualified.

Timothy Banks, defending, said Pearson was upset because he had been told he would be moved further away from his family after being caught with the phones. He said his client's decision to walk out was "an error of judgment in the extreme". He added: "He hoped to go to Spring Hill (another open prison, in Buckinghamshire) so he could get some work and start building for his future."

Judge Anthony King sentenced Pearson to two extra months in custody.