Gavin Poyner gave his minders the slip while on an escorted visit in Lowton and police have warned members of the public not approach him.

The 30-year-old is a patient at The Spinney psychiatric unit in Atherton and left last Friday to go on the Lowton visit.

But at 3.30pm that day, police were told that the had threatened his escorts and had run off.

Poyner was convicted of robbery in Birmingham last year and was later released on licence.

He was then re-arrested by West Midlands Police after he was discovered with offensive weapons, namely a knuckle-duster and CS gas.

This led him to being sent back to jail and, because he had allegedly been experiencing psychiatric problems, he was sent up to The Spinney for assessment.

Police say every effort is being made to find Poyner and they are appealing to anyone who knows of his whereabouts to come forward.

However, members of the public are being urged not to approach him under any circumstances, and that if they do see him, to call police immediately.

He is black, about 6ft 1in tall, of medium build and with short black hair, stubble on his face and brown eyes. On the day he escaped he was wearing navy tracksuit trousers and a navy tracksuit top.

Poyner is also known by the aliases of Steven Davies, Richard Mark Nightingale, Alex Gavin Poyner, Gavin Alex Poyner, Dwayne Roberts and Alex Richard Sarpong.

Det Insp Clare Devlin, from Wigan CID, said: “Our intelligence suggests that Poyner may have fled the country, but we cannot categorically say he is no longer in Greater Manchester.

“Without his medication, Poyner is likely to be disorientated and distressed, and could pose a risk both to himself and others. I would therefore urge anyone who sees him to not approach him and call police immediately.”