A Bradford man escaped from prison because he was unhappy mixing with inmates from Lancashire and not Yorkshire, a court heard.

Richard Milburn simply walked out through the entrance gates at HMP Kirkham, near Preston, and made his way back to West Yorkshire.

Milburn, who was serving three and a half years for burglary and driving offences, handed himself in after two months and was now incarcerated back on home turf at HMP Leeds, Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday.

He pleaded guilty to escaping from the Category D open prison on November 30 last year.

Milburn, 29, of Hall Lane, East Bowling, Bradford, gave himself up by walking into Trafalgar House Police Station in Bradford on January 27.

Prosecutor Paul Nicholson told the court Milburn’s earliest release date had been June this year.

He said “it must have been something of a loose regime” at HMP Kirkham because Milburn was not found to be missing until evening roll call.

“He was unhappy because it was not Yorkshire people there, it was Lancashire and Liverpool people,” Mr Nicholson said.

Milburn’s solicitor advocate, Alistair Bateman, said he left through the entrance gates. Until then, he was a model prisoner, taking a wide variety of courses, including assertive decision- making. “He was at large for a number of days and then walked into a police station,” Mr Bateman said.

He told the court Milburn was victimised in the prison and being asked to store a mobile phone by prisoners from the Manchester area.

Judge Colin Burn jailed Milburn for three months, to run consecutively with the sentence he was already serving. He is set to be freed in November.

“The court has a public duty to pass a sentence of custody to prevent other people from simply walking out of the Category D conditions you were in,” said Judge Burn.