A 30-year-old man, who escaped from a minimum-security correctional facility at Cessnock yesterday, has been arrested.
The inmate was reported missing from the facility on Lindsay Street about 11.15am on Wednesday, after reportedly taking a staff members car keys after they had been dropped on the ground on their way to work.
Around 6pm on Wednesday night police attended Cooper Street, Cessnock after receiving information a man matching the escapee's description had been seen.
The man was arrested a short time later on King Street, with a car believed to have been used by the man seized.
He was taken to Cessnock Police Station and charged with escaping lawful custody, taking and driving conveyance, being a disqualified driver, dishonestly obtaining property by deception and resisting arrest.
He has been refused bail and will appear in Newcastle Local Court on Thursday the 16th of April.
