A CONVICTED robber who went missing after being released on licence from prison has been arrested.

Joshua Sargent, 20, was arrested at a property in Sheffield on Monday, almost two months after being told to live at a specified address.

Sargent, who had served about 18 months of a three-year jail sentence for a robbery in Ripon Market Place in March last year, is due to be transferred back to prison.

Inspector Mark Gee said: “Joshua Sargent believed he could continue to make a mockery of the justice system and evade his due punishment by flouting the terms of his prison release licence. This was clearly not the case.

“The fact that Sargent is now back in custody to serve the remainder of his sentence for robbery, shows that North Yorkshire Police will never stop hunting for those people who blight our communities and deserve to be behind bars.”

Insp Gee thanked the media and the public for their help in tracking down Sargent, adding that it was vital that police and the public work together to bring offenders to justice and reduce crime.