Gwent Police have confirmed that an escaped prisoner who had terrorised two Ammanford families has been captured and rearrested.

Leigh Foster, aged 41, escaped from HMP Prescoed on Sunday was recaptured later in the day.

A spokesman for the force confirmed Foster had been “located and arrested”.

“He is currently in police custody and will shortly be returned to the prison authorities,” said the spokesman.

Police initially issued a warning that Foster was “a potential risk to members of the public” and warned people not to approach him.

Foster was convicted of robbery at Swansea Crown Court in 2007.

In 2002, he was part of a gang of vigilantes who burst into the homes of two families in Ammanford.

Wearing masks and brandishing a knife, a baseball bat and a length of wood, they had been looking for a hard drugs dealer but did not know his address.

Known as Leigh Foster-Griffiths at the time, he was jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Police had feared he was likely to have attempted to return to the Ammanford area.