An escaped prisoner has been re-captured by police after a helicopter search of north Kent.

The 20-year-old man was found hiding in undergrowth near Darent Valley Hospital just before 7pm.

A police helicopter was spotted over Bluewater as armed officers from both Kent and Essex hunted for the robbery suspect.

The search got underway at 3.45pm after the 20-year-old man escaped from police custody.

He had been taken to hospital after collapsing at Grays police station shortly before 12.45pm and was thought to be in the area nearby both the shopping centre and Darent Valley Hospital.

Bluewater moved to assure shoppers as to their safety after receiving inquiries on social media about the helicopter.

This latest armed response in the area is a separate to an earlier incident in which two men were spotted with suspected firearms near Darent Valley Hospital.