A convicted sex offender who went on the run after climbing a fence at a secure hospital in Hampshire has been found.

Stephen Munden, 54, went missing from an independent hospital in Winchfield on Tuesday evening and Dorset Police was among the forces issuing an appeal for information.

Hampshire Constabulary said he handed himself into police in Thames Valley at about 00.45am yesterday.

A police spokesman said: "He has been detained and taken to a mental health facility."

Munden was described by police as a "vulnerable adult" with mental health treatment needs.

Munden was detained at the facility under a hospital order after being sentenced for sexual offences in 2014.

These were possessing, making and attempting to make indecent images of children, and sexual assault on a child under 13.

The 54-year-old, who was detained under the Mental Health Act, was last spotted leaving Mildmay Oaks independent hospital in Winchfield, near Hook, but he failed to return.

It has emerged that Munden climbed over a fence and fled on foot from the hospital grounds.

Despite being sent to the hospital by a judge after being convicted of sexually touching a child and possessing indecent images of children, the hospital told the Daily Echo that it “did not deem this patient suitable for a secure setting”.

 

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