An MP has criticised the police for failing to catch a murderer who escaped from prison eight years ago.

The Argus revealed on Friday that Thomas Curtis, 51, escaped from Leyhill Open Prison in Gloucestershire in 1998 and has been missing ever since.

He was convicted of bludgeoning 79-year-old Donald Hersey to death in Eastbourne in 1985 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

But with just a year left to serve of his sentence he was moved to the open prison and simply walked to freedom in December 1998.

The Home Office originally refused to reveal whether Curtis was on a list of 25 absconders from the prison, which includes two other murderers and a man convicted of manslaughter.

But they finally confirmed his identity when Eastbourne MP Nigel Waterson asked for confirmation he was at large.

Mr Waterson said: "Where is he? He could be anywhere. He has managed to evade the police for eight years but then that is not difficult if the police are not looking for him.

"He hasn't paid his debt to society and served his sentence and that is what needs to happen. I am amazed we are asking each other these questions when the police should be using their skills to track him down.

"There seems to be a lot of people walking out of open prisons. Open prisons have their purpose but they need to reconsider what type of prisoner they send there.

"It would be interesting to know what kind of assessment was made on Curtis that someone thought he was a good candidate for an open prison."

Curtis lived on Croxden Way, in Eastbourne, when he committed the murder in 1984.

Wayne Marshall, 26, who lives in the street, said: "He should be brought back to finish his sentence. I can't believe the police are not looking for him. It doesn't send out a good message."

The victim Donald Hersey lived on Combe Rise, in Lower Willingdon, where the murder took place.

Carol Unsted, 61, has lived there for ten years. She said: "The police aren't doing enough. They probably have more important things to do like getting money from speeding drivers."

A spokeswoman for Sussex Police said: "We were dismayed when we learned that Thomas Curtis had absconded from prison and was at large.

"At the time we worked with Avon and Somerset police to cover lines of inquiry to establish if he had come back to Sussex.

A spokeswoman for Avon and Somerset Police said: "We share the responsibility of all police forces to return the absconder to custody. We also have a comprehensive monitoring system in place which is reviewed every three months. If anyone has information about Thomas Curtis' whereabouts please call 0845 4567000."

A spokesman for the Home Office said: "The nature of open prisons means we can never guarantee prisoners will not abscond. But the number of those who do in relation to the prison population is now at its lowest level for ten years."