A PRISONER who absconded from Askham Grange Open Prison last month has been given an eight-week jail term.

Tracey Simmonds is now back in prison and continuing to serve the sentence that brought her to the women’s prison outside York.

She was granted temporary release from HMP Askham Grange on Saturday April 20, but failed to return when she should have done.

Simmonds, 48, whose address was given as HMP Askham Grange, pleaded guilty to being unlawfully at large.

She was jailed at York Magistrates' Court for eight weeks and ordered to pay a £154 statutory surcharge.

Prisoners at Askham Grange Prison in Askham Richard, west of York, can apply for and be granted temporary release to help them prepare for life in the community at the end of their time in prison. They can use it to gain work experience or maintain family ties.

They have to observe strict conditions while away from the prison.

Askham Grange often houses prisoners coming to the end of the custodial part of long sentences including life sentences.

It also has a mother and baby unit for women who were pregnant when they were sent to jail.

Last year the prison got the highest rating of any prison in England and Wales. For some time it had been under threat of closure but that was lifted last year.