POLICE have been criticised for not alerting the public sooner that a convicted killer had escaped from a secure hospital.

Phillip Westwater - dubbed the Black Dog Strangler - was on the loose in Newcastle for 12 hours in January before officers found him drinking in a gay bar.

An inquiry concluded that Northumbria Police did not adequately assess the risk the 44-year-old posed to the public.

The twice-married patient, who is from Newcastle, was detained indefinitely uynder the Mental health Act after paralysing a man during a pub fight in 1989.

A year later Westwater killed a fellow inmate at Liverpool's Ashworth Hospital with his dressing gown cord, convinced his victim had turned him into a black dog. He admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

He fled St Nicholas Hospital, Newcastle, after asking to use the toilet during an escorted visit before disappearing.

Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria, Vera Baird, investigated his January 2 escape and said police were "lulled away from recognising Westwater's status as an escapee" as they often received reports of voluntary patients going missing and the initial report was made on 101, the police non-emergency number.

It took police three hours to upgrade Wetswater’s status to "unlawfully at large" - but even then no risk assessment was done and no photograph released until about 10 hours after his disappearance.

Waterman was re-captured less than two hours after a photo was finally released.

Former Redcar MP, Ms Baird said: “It is of note that he, the killer of one gay man and who had slashed another’s throat in licensed premises, was found drinking in company, in a renowned gay bar.

“It seems likely that had the police not been lulled away from recognising Westwaters status as an escapee, a timely risk assessment would have led to circulation of fuller information including a photograph and perhaps to his earlier recapture.”

But Ms Baird said that the force was correcting its failings.

Northumbria’s Deputy Chief Constable Steve Ashman admitted the risk was not adequately assessed.

“The safety nets that are in place to ensure that such a risk to the public is identified and managed with the right level of response did not work," he said.

"The initial report came into us via our non-emergency number. This unfortunately set the tone for our response. 

“Our action plan absolutely addresses each and every one of the points raised in both our internal review and the subsequent Police and Crime Commissioner’s report."