A manhunt is under way for a prisoner who escaped from a secure medical unit in Lewisham, south London, on Friday 23 October. The Metropolitan Police said Anthony Lloyd, 38, forced his way out of the unit at around 4.10pm and was last seen heading towards Catford. Officers have warned the public not to approach him, saying he may pose a risk to himself and to others.
Lloyd was serving a 12-month sentence for actual bodily harm, following an incident involving three emergency workers in Nottinghamshire in 2025, and had been moved to the Lewisham facility in September. Prisoners are sometimes held in secure medical units, rather than a prison’s own healthcare wing, when they need treatment the prison cannot provide. Escapes from this kind of custody are rare, but when they happen they trigger a large police response, because the escort and security arrangements around them are meant to be especially tight.
Detective Superintendent Melanie Pressley is leading the search. Police say Lloyd has links to Surrey, Sussex, Thames Valley, Hampshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Merseyside, as well as London. For families and victims, episodes like this are a reminder that absconding does not end a sentence: anyone who escapes custody remains wanted and can be returned to prison, usually with time added, once caught. Anyone with information is asked to call 999, quoting CAD4739/23Oct, rather than approach him directly.