Skinny escapee gets 18 months more jail

A PRISONER who escaped from a Sydney jail after losing weight and slipping between the bars of his cell has been sentenced to a further one year and nine months in prison.

Robert Cole, 37, spent three days on the run from police after escaping from Sydney's Long Bay jail on January 18 this year.

The prisoner shed up to 14 kilograms - apparently with the help of laxatives - to fit his 56kg frame in a 15cm gap between the brickwork and steel bars of his hospital cell.

In the NSW District Court at Parramatta today, Judge Roger Dive handed Cole a non-parole period of one year and nine months, backdated to the date of his arrest on January 21.

Judge Dive said Cole's escape involved a considerable degree of planning.

"This is a serious offence of escape,'' Judge Dive told the court.

"It has involved some time consuming efforts and planning and preparation."

The court was told Cole spent three weeks scraping the brickwork in his cell with a butter knife and also made a blanket to assist him in scaling razor-wire fences.

Cole will be eligible for parole on October 20 next year.