ShortList is supported by you, our amazing readers. When you click through the links on our site and make a purchase we may earn a commission. Learn more

Inmates Attempt Real Life Shawshank Escape

Inmates Attempt Real Life Shawshank Escape

Inmates Attempt Real Life Shawshank Escape
31 May 2012

The judge described it as 'a bit Colditz', but two prisoners' pitiful attempt to escape ended in cold feet when they gave up after just 24 hours of digging and confessed to prison authorities.

Preston Crown Court heard that David Crossfield and Jordan Morgan hatched a plot to tunnel their way out of Preston jail - a feat accomplished successfully in the seminal film Shawshank Redemption - and used a metal drawer runner to scrape away at mortar after initially smashing their way through a chimney breast. The dust was hidden in a pair of old tracksuit pants.

But where Andy Dufresne in Shawshank spent decades tunnelling his way to freedom, Crossfield and Morgan gave up after just a day, reporting themselves to officers and subsequently blaming each other for the escape plan.

Sadly, even if they had persevered, their tunnel would have simply led to an another closed environment within the prison walls.

Silvia Dacre, prosecuting, added insult to injury by describing the dastardly plot as, "so fanciful it was really not a realistic attempt".

Crossfield and Morgan received 2 months further jail time for criminal damage, on top of their existing sentences. Perhaps if they actually use all that time for digging and put a bit more effort in, they might have a chance to escape properly.

(Image: All Star)