ELEVEN offenders from the region have been on the run for almost a year, or possibly longer, having failed to be returned to jail for breaching the terms of their licence.

The criminals five from the Northumbria police area and two each from Cleveland, Durham and North Yorkshire were all recalled before June 30 2008 and had not returned to custody by June 26 this year, figures from the Ministry of Justice showed.

They were among 612 criminals nationally still at large during that period, despite being subject to recall.

These were revealed to include 19 people convicted of murder, 26 of sexual offences, 72 for robbery and 32 for causing grievous bodily harm/wounding The Ministry of Justice said it could not break down the regional figures by offence.

Tonight Charles Johnson, chairman of South Durham Conservatives and a local magistrate in Middlesbrough, said he believed a lack of manpower was behind the failure to recall some individuals.

He said: It is quite appalling that there are procedures in place, but the authorities are unable to follow them because they dont have the manpower to do it.

If people are recalled they should be put back in prison immediately.

A year or so wait is simply not acceptable.

Most criminals who serve sentences of 12 months or more are automatically released at the half point of their sentence.

They are then on licence, meaning there are conditions they must comply with to stay out of prison while finishing the rest of their sentence.

Offenders are recalled to prison if they breach the terms of their release such as by committing further crimes or failing to be in touch with their supervising probation officer.

The responsibility for recalls begins with the local Probation Service which assesses the risk offenders pose and completes the necessary paperwork to begin the process.

It passes this onto the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) which issues the recall notice to police.

The police then have to find, arrest and return the offender to custody.

They have a target of returning the highest risk offenders known as emergency recalls to custody within 48 hours, while the remainder should be returned within four days.

A Government spokesman said the figures had to be viewed in context and said that between 1999 and June last year less than one per cent of offenders subject to recall had not been apprehended.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) said offenders were recalled to custody as speedily as possible, with forces told to take priority action to arrest violent and sexual offenders.