A convicted rapist who absconded from a pre-release training course in Belfast has been re-arrested.
Mark Thomas Clarke was taken back into custody on Belfast's Springfield Road. He absconded from a training course in Nutt's Corner, Co Antrim, on Tuesday.
Clarke (40) was approaching the end of his sentence for kidnapping and attempted rape at knifepoint. He was jailed in 1996, 15 months after being freed half way through another prison term for rape.
In the third stage of a pre-release programme, Clarke had been living at home with his parents under strict release conditions.
He had also been working for a wage in the construction industry as part of his rehabilitation. One of the conditions of his temporary release was that he was not permitted to drive a vehicle except while at work.
He absconded on Tuesday after a prison officer told him he was to be returned to jail after the service received a report he had bought a car.
"When he was advised that he was being returned to prison until the circumstances of his case were fully reviewed, he absconded and staff were unable to apprehend him," a Prison Service spokesman said.
After his re-arrest today, police said Clarke would now be returned to prison for questioning. "He will be interviewed by police in relation to being unlawfully at large," a PSNI spokeswoman confirmed.