Police in Bradford were today hunting a convicted murderer after he failed to turn up for a Court appearance.

Ernest Leslie Alan Wright, 63, had been jailed for life in 1973 for battering Trevor Hale to death with an iron bar and then trying to burn his body in a shallow grave.

He was released on "life licence" in 1999 after being ordered to serve a minimum 13-year "tariff" before being recommended for parole.

His licence means he could be recalled to prison at any time for an alleged offence.

A West Yorkshire police spokesman said: "Mr Wright was arrested in connection with a driving offence and was due to appear in court but he failed to turn up and has not been seen since."

Mr Wright was ordered back to prison on February 18 and police have now launched a search to find him.

They are warning the public not to approach him if they see him.

It is believed he may have been visiting the Swain House area of Bradford recently, where he was known to have lived after his release.

Mr Wright has a record for jail escapes. The 1973 murder was committed while he was on the run from Pentonville Prison, where he was serving five years for burglary.

In 1991, he escaped from Ranby Prison, Nottingham-shire, while on a home visit to his sister in Saltaire.

While on the run, he wrote to the T&A, insisting: "I am not the sort of monster you have made me look," adding that the murder was a "crime of passion" committed because his lover was being beaten up by her husband.

Mr Wright tried to claim compensation for the extra years he spent in jail after Home Secretary Michael Howard refused his release in 1991 despite a recommendation from the parole board in favour of release on "life licence."

His bid for compensation was turned down last March and, in December, London's High Court also refused the claim.

Mr Wright told the T&A in December he was planning on taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

He is described as a white man, 5ft6, slim, with greying hair and blue eyes. He wears glasses, has tattoos on the fingers of both hands and a "scroll" tattoo on his right forearm.

Anyone who knows of Mr Wright's whereabouts or who spots him is urged to call Bradford North Police immediately on (01274) 376259.