Shaun Walmsley prison escape sparks manhunt after he’s freed by armed gang while leaving hospital and walking to MINICAB
Two armed men leapt out of car and held up guards before Walmsley, 28, made his escape in Liverpool
AN "untouchable" gangland murderer is on the run after being sprung from prison by an armed gang.
Drugs kingpin Shaun Walmsley - serving a minimum of 30 years for a drugs-related hit - was walking out of hospital with prison guards and heading towards a minicab when a car pulled up.
Sources said men armed with a gun, knife and pepper spray leapt out and held up guards before Walmsley, 28, made his escape in a gold Volvo.
Cops and Prison Service chiefs have launched an urgent investigation into the ambush in Liverpool.
A source said: "The officers involved are hugely shaken up but fortunately not hurt.
"There will be serious questions to answer about why a convicted murderer was travelling in a minicab in the first place."
Merseyside Police appealed for witnesses to the incident, which took place outside Aintree University Hospital, Fazakerley, Liverpool, at 3pm today.
But they warned the public not to approach the "dangerous" crime boss, who was only two years into his sentence at nearby HMP Liverpool.
Walmsley, from Walton, had only been jailed for life in June 2015 for the murder of drugs rival Anthony Duffy, 33.
Duffy had plotted to steal a £60,000 cannabis crop from Walmsley and his partner Christopher Kenny, also now 28, whose drugs empire stretched from Merseyside to Dover and Aberdeen.
But the pair were tipped off and had their revenge.