Birmingham prison inmate goes to pub after release error Published duration 7 July 2015

image copyright Google image caption Harwood had a "couple of pints" before handing himself back in to police

A prisoner released from jail by mistake went to a pub for "a couple of pints" before handing himself in.

Lewis Harwood, 31, was released from HMP Birmingham after serving a sentence for motoring offences.

But Birmingham Magistrates' Court had remanded him over an unrelated charge three days earlier and alerted the prison by fax late that evening, said G4S, which runs the jail.

Harwood later realised he should not have been released and went to police.

'Relaxed and chilling'

His friend Darren Clifford, whose mother runs the Soho Foundry Tavern in Smethwick, about a 10-minute walk from the jail, said he had known Harwood for years and that he was a regular at the pub.

"He was relaxed, chilling - just happy to be out," he said.

"When he got home and checked, he realised the mistake and handed himself back in at the police station and they took him back to the prison."

Mr Clifford said Harwood, from Rugeley, Staffordshire, "only had a couple of pints and a sandwich".

A G4S spokesman said: "In accordance with proper procedures we performed a 14-day and a two-day check on this prisoner's release date and both of these cleared him for release first thing on Monday [29 June] morning.

"The only notification we received of a change to his status was a fax sent by the court late on Friday [26 June] evening.

"The prisoner is now back in custody and we have proposed to our partners in the court system that the way important decisions about offenders are communicated to the prison is looked at."

But a spokeswoman for HM Courts & Tribunals Service said the fax was sent before 17:00 BST.

"Lewis Harwood's hearing took place on the afternoon of Friday 26 June and he was remanded in custody to appear at Birmingham Crown Court on 5 October 2015," she said.

"The result of the hearing was checked and faxed across to HMP Birmingham, in line with standard procedure, at around 16:40 [BST] on the 26th."