Inmate who had relationship with prison nurse went on run after arrest

A GANG member who carried on an inappropriate relationship with a prison nurse sparked a week-long manhunt after escaping from hospital in handcuffs.

- LOIS MCCARTHY & WALES NEWS SERVICE

Harri Pullen, 27, previously made headlines for alleged romantic flings with a prison officer and a nurse during a four-year sentence.

He was freed after serving his time behind bars but returned to his life of crime and has now been jailed for a further six years.

Former prison nurse Elyse Hibbs, 27, was previously jailed for her inappropriate relationship with Pullen when he was behind bars.

Ruth Shmylo, 26, was accused of a romance with Pullen after he called her for phone sex from his cell and was dismissed from her job as a prison officer, but was cleared of criminality during a trial in 2023.

Newport Crown Court heard Pullen had been free for a matter of months when he was injured resisting officers who caught him drug-dealing on an e-bike and he was taken to hospital for checks.

Pullen was still wearing handcuffs when he made a run through the car park and ambulance bays of the hospital in Cwmbran and jumped into a “getaway car” to flee.

He then spent a week at large and was eventually discovered hiding in a countryside farmhouse outside Newport.

Pullen had been arrested after plainclothes police saw two men acting suspiciously riding an e-bike through Newport city centre.

Prosecutor Alex Granville said Pullen was found with five wraps of crack cocaine, a burner phone, an iPhone and £90 inside a black bum bag.

He said: “The defendant was conveyed to custody but after complaining of head pain he was transported by police for medical care.”

Mr Granville said that while at Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran four women family members tried to visit Pullen but were told they were “unable to stay.”

He added: “Having been taken out to the van, he asked to use the toilet so was taken back inside. Upon having used the toilet and exiting the building, the defendant ran off from officers.