Reward for info on fugitive alleged killer

STAFFORD, England, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- British police offered a reward Tuesday for information leading to the recapture of an accused killer freed in an attack on a prison van.

John Anslow, 31, was described in the police announcement as "very dangerous," the Daily Mirror reported. The reward for information is 10,000 pounds ($15,600).

Anslow escaped Monday morning when armed men held up a van transporting him to a court appearance in Stafford Crown Court. He was being held in a prison in Redditch, Worcestershire.

Carol Deakin, whose son, Richard, was Anslow's alleged victim, told the Mirror she was "terrified" Anslow might harm her family.

"We were in court for the hearing and realized something was wrong," she said. "When we were told what had happened, I was blown out of the water, it was unbelievable."

Deakin, 27, was killed with a shotgun last July by five men who invaded his bedroom in Chasetown, Staffordshire.

Police raided five houses in Tipton, Anslow's home, in the West Midlands late Monday and detained a 44-year-old man for questioning.