Stephen Jamieson, 28, serving 12 years for armed robbery, made his jailbreak in broad daylight on Tuesday from the prison in Goulburn in New South Wales about 160 kilometres south-west of Sydney.
Jamieson threw the tied sheets over a 5-metre-high wall and climbed over, a pillow tied to his stomach helped him get over the barbed wire, police said.
Police said Jamieson was spotted 12 hours later, 20 kilometres away in a stolen car and arrested early Wednesday after a dramatic 100 kilometre police chase.
Embarrassed prison authorities have launched an inquiry into how Jamieson could make such a brazen classic escape from Australia’s highest security prison, which holds serial killers, terrorists and other criminals. (d