Alert as convict thought to have escaped across Border

Police on both sides of the Irish border were on alert tonight for a prisoner who escaped from custody while attending a funeral in Northern Ireland.

James Joseph McEvoy (27) was last seen getting into a white car at a service station on a bypass near his home city of Newry.

It is believed the car headed towards the border with the Irish Republic.

Members of the public were urged not to approach McEvoy, who was sentenced to seven years imprisonment last month after being found guilty of grievous bodily harm.

They were urged to contact their local police station if they caught sight of him. McEvoy is 5ft 11in, of medium build, with fair hair and blue eyes.