Detectives hunting "extremely dangerous" murder suspect John Anslow who escaped from a prison van have offered a £10,000 reward for information about his whereabouts.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender following the "well-orchestrated ambush" that saw John Anslow being sprung from custody, and is being questioned by police.
Officers from West Midlands Police detained the 44-year-old suspect last night just hours after Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke ordered an inquiry into how Anslow was able to escape from a prison van.
There is still no sign of the highly-dangerous category A prisoner, now at the centre of an international manhunt.
A gang of three masked men stopped the vehicle, smashed its windows with sledgehammers and punched its driver as it was taking inmates from Hewell Prison in Redditch to Stafford Crown Court yesterday morning.
Instead of being transferred in a high-security prison service van with a police escort, Anslow was with other inmates in a van run by a private contractor.
Detective Superintendent Martin Evans of Staffordshire Police, the force leading the hunt, said: "Our investigation into finding escaped prisoner John Anslow is continuing to move quickly as we follow several lines of inquiry.
"Staffordshire Police are offering a £10,000 reward for information that leads to Anslow's arrest and return to prison. We're hoping that this sizeable reward will encourage those who know where Anslow might be to come forward. All calls will be treated in the strictest confidence."
Property has been recovered following the execution of five search warrants in the Tipton area of the West Midlands, and it is now being examined by police, he added.
Officers have received calls about possible sightings of a silver Mercedes car used by Anslow and his associates and are appealing for information about a silver Volkswagen Scirocco found abandoned close to the scene. It is thought the offenders used it during the incident, then switched to the Mercedes.
Anslow's status was upgraded to Category A only after he was charged with the murder of businessman Richard Deakin last week.
Mr Evans said more than half a million people had been reached on Facebook as part of the force's social media appeal for information on Anslow.
He said: "We'd continue to remind people that Anslow has been charged with murder and is considered very dangerous.
"Anyone who sees him should not approach him but should ring 999 immediately."
Friends or associates of Anslow who know where he is are asked to call the incident room directly on 01785 235051.
Anslow was due to be taken to a category A prison, rather than back to Hewell Prison which was designed for lower risk category B, C and D inmates, after his court hearing, but he was sprung from custody at around 8.20am.
He is the first category A prisoner to escape from custody in more than 17 years.
Police are liaising with other UK forces, the UK Border Agency and foreign authorities in their hunt for Anslow, and all airports and railway stations have been alerted.
Mr Evans said Anslow, also known as Skitz, has strong connections across the country, including London, as well as overseas.
He was described as white, 5ft 10in tall, medium build, with short, straight, dark brown hair.
Detective Inspector Jon Marsden, of West Mercia Police, added that Anslow was one of five men charged with the murder of Mr Deakin, who was shot dead in Staffordshire in 2010.
Mr Deakin, 27, died after being shot while alone at his home in Meadway Street, Chasetown, at about 8.30am on July 5, 2010.
Police launched appeals for information following his death, including a feature on the BBC's Crimewatch programme, and a £20,000 reward was offered for information about his killing.
Officers said his family were "shocked" by the escape.
Prisoner escort firm GEO Amey confirmed that two of its staff were treated by paramedics at the scene of the attack after both were threatened by the gang and one suffered facial injuries. Two other prisoners who were also in the van were not released.
The inquiry ordered by Mr Clarke yesterday will consider Anslow's "security categorisation" and the "management of the prisoner so that we can learn lessons for the future", he said.
Category A status is reserved for those prisoners whose escape would be highly dangerous to the public, police or security, and for whom the aim is to make escape impossible.
Anslow is the first such prisoner to escape since 1995 when Matthew Williams, serving a life sentence for planting a bomb, administering poisons and arson, was among three men who escaped from Parkhurst jail on the Isle of Wight.
Last July, the trial of an alleged criminal gang which used guns and grenades to intimidate its rivals collapsed after two defendants escaped from a prison van on the edge of Manchester city centre.
The gang made off and an international search was launched for the two men, with ports and airports in the UK monitored.
And in September 2006, a "violent and dangerous" criminal escaped from a prison van in Redditch after being helped by two masked men armed with a gun.
Two men wearing balaclavas, or with their faces covered, used a firearm to threaten staff in a security van taking the prisoner back to Blakenhurst prison following an appearance before magistrates in Redditch.