Guilty plea after lamp post foils escape

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CHAIN OF FOOLS: Two prisoners run into a lamp-post in an ill-conceived bid for freedom.

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One of two prisoners handcuffed together who ran either side of a lamp-post in an ill-conceived bid for freedom has pleaded guilty to trying to escape custody.

The other was remanded without plea after his lawyer expressed concerns over his fitness to plead.

Regan Reti, 20, and another man, 26, ran from a police escort while leaving a side entrance of Hastings District Court on Tuesday.

They had been handcuffed together after Reti was sentenced to two years' prison on assault charges and the other man was remanded in custody on charges of breaching parole conditions.

Their break for freedom came to an embarrassing end when they chose to run on different sides of a lamp-post. They swung around the pole and collided with each other before collapsing in a tangle. Each blamed the other for their actions.

The episode was caught on CCTV.

The men reappeared in the same court yesterday for attempting to escape custody.

Reti's lawyer, Eric Forster, said his client was anxious about being sent to prison and got a case of the "collywobbles". Reti was sentenced to an extra month in prison and was escorted from the court without incident.

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- © Fairfax NZ News