Prisoner goes on the run - then phones his local paper to say 'jail's driving me insane'

A convicted robber escaped from prison - then called his local paper to say jail was 'driving me insane'. But fugitive Greggor Grey, 42, has vowed to hand himself in.

He had served 17 years of a sentence for robbery when he absconded from HMP Sudbury in Derbyshire on May 15. It is understood he could have been released after just three years as part of an indeterminate Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) but he has remained behind bars, BirminghamLive reports.

Police have warned the public not to approach the fugitive. In an emotional phone call to a BirminghamLive reporter, Grey said he intended to give himself up before his next scheduled parole hearing.

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Speaking about the years in jail he has spent, he said: "We're in prison for the last 17 years. It's driving me insane."

The long-term prisoner added he planned to return to jail before his next parole hearing on June 14. In one outburst, he told the paper: "I thought about just giving them the raw uncut emotion that I deal with on a daily basis."

Grey gave no indication of where he was during their brief phone call. It is understood he was initially subject of a three year minimum IPP - a controversial sentence which was abolished in 2012. But those handed an IPP sentence before the change still have to abide by its terms.

Offenders sentenced to an IPP are set a minimum term which they must serve before they can apply to the Parole Board for release. But the board will only release an offender if satisfied that it is no longer necessary to keep them in jail for the protection of the public.

IPPs were launched in 2005 but scrapped in 2012 after being