Woman charged with helping prisoner escape

A woman has been arrested and charged with helping prisoner Arthur Taylor escape custody last week.

The woman would appear in Whangarei District Court, a Wellington police spokeswoman told NZPA.

No further details about the woman or circumstances of her arrest were available, she said.

Taylor, 48, escaped briefly in central Wellington after a man with a pistol approached guards escorting him from a prison van.

He was caught shortly afterwards and charged with escaping, kidnapping and presenting a firearm.

Police were today still hunting convicted killer Manu Aperhama Royal in connection with the escape, the spokeswoman said.

- NZPA