A DANGEROUS prisoner was on the run last night for the second time

after making his getaway in an ambulance for the disabled.

John Tierney Dobbie, described by police as a danger to the public,

escaped while on a work placement from Dungavel Prison, near Strathaven,

to a nursing home in Wishaw.

A police hunt was under way last night and the public were warned not

to approach him. The ambulance, an H-reg two tone blue Ford Transit,

Dobbie is 5ft 9in, slim, with short black hair going grey. He has

green eyes, a moustache, and a scar on his left hand.

He was last seen wearing a black leather jacket, grey sweater, yellow

shirt, blue denims, and black shoes. Police said he walked with a stoop.

Dobbie, 39, was jailed in 1985 for 15 years for a violent armed raid

on a post office in Easterhouse. Twelve days after being sentenced he

escaped after hiding in a laundry bag being taken out of Barlinnie in a

van.

After being recaptured Dobbie was transferred to Dungavel. He was

allowed out on the special work duty to the Alex Anderson House in East

Thornlie Street, Wishaw.

A police spokesman said last night: ''We believe he may be a danger to

the public and advise anyone who spots him not to approach him but to

report the sighting immediately to the nearest police office or

officer.''