DETECTIVES hunting for escaped killer Alan Giles have today sent a large TV advertisement van out into Worcestershire.

The van carries a ten-metre TV screen displaying a picture of the missing man, who absconded from HMP Hewell near Redditch on Monday morning.

Giles, aged 56, is serving two life sentences for the kidnap and murder of 16-year-old student Kevin Ricketts in 1995.

The van will be driving around Alcester, Inkberrow, Studley and Wixford, and officers hope someone who may have vital information sees the appeal and calls police.

On Thursday, police were told Giles had been spotted in Inkberrow, and they are continuing the manhunt, visiting caravan sites and making further house-to-house inquiries.

Specialist search teams, including dogs and the police helicopter, are also taking part in the search.

Detective Inspector Leighton Harding said: “We are very grateful to the public for their help so far, and we are continuing to follow-up a number of sightings of Giles in the South Warwickshire area.

“We believe the ad van may help us reach people who have not picked up our previous media appeals, and hopefully one of these people will call in with the vital information that leads to Giles’s return to prison.

“If anyone spots Giles we would ask that they call us immediately so we can respond straight away.

"Any delay in contacting us, even if it’s just to take a little time to get home, may mean we lose the opportunity to capture Giles if it is actually him who has been spotted.

“Please do not approach him, call us on 999 or 101 as soon as possible.”