A VIOLENT offender from Kent who was serving a life sentence is being hunted by police after walking out of an open prison.

Patrick Oliver Bonnick, 38, was sentenced to life imprisonment for grievous bodily harm with intent after a savage knife attack in Gravesend.

Bonnick, who is from the Milton area of Gravesend, had served six years of a life sentence.

There are fears he may have returned to his old haunts after absconding from Sudbury open prison in Derbyshire.

Bonnick, who has previous convictions for burglary and rape, was sentenced to life in August 2000 at Maidstone Crown Court, having slashing a friend in the face with a knife after an argument.

He absconded on October 31 2006, but searches have revealed nothing and details have only been released after enquiries by the Gravesend Messenger under the Freedom of Information act.

Bonnick is described as a 6ft 2in, Afro-Caribbean of medium build.

Sgt Rod Chapman said: “If members of the public see this man, they should not approach or alert him, but contact police immediately on 999.”

Mr Bonnick was sentenced under the 'two strikes’ legislation of 1997, which made a life sentence mandatory on conviction for a second serious violent or sexual offence.

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