Ananova:

A convict who absconded from an open jail returned three days later - because life was easier inside.

Wesley Crawford, 42, disappeared after getting in trouble for having a mobile in his room, reports The Sun.

But after three days on the run, he got fed up and decided to go back.

The Sun quotes a jail source as saying: "We couldn't believe it. To come knocking on the door and asking to be taken back in is amazing.

"He basically said that it was much more cushy being inside prison than it was on the outside. And he still believes that - even though he has now been sent to a closed prison."

Crawford was sentenced to 12 years for robbery at Stafford Crown Court in July, 2001.

In Sudbury open prison, Derbyshire, he had three meals a day with a choice of menus, plus a TV in his room which was never locked. There is snooker, table tennis and a gym.

A spokesman for the Prison Service said: "Anyone who absconds from an open prison is returned to closed conditions on recapture."