London, Sept.19: Murderers and rapists, who are still serving jail sentences, are being allowed to drive on roads in Britain under an open prison scheme.

According to The Daily Mail, over 200 inmates, including 33 killers, have been granted permission to drive themselves to and from open prisons to paid jobs in the community.

The cars are then locked in prison grounds to keep them safe from thieves and vandals.
The criminals, who also include a man guilty of rape and murder and six thugs convicted of grievous bodily harm (GBH), are still supposed to be serving prison terms.

But to prepare them for a release, they are allowed to take jobs paying the minimum wage or more.
The Government has decided that they should be allowed to buy their own cars or motorbikes - often using cash saved from work completed during their time in jail.

They can store up cash to buy vehicles and pay road tax as the Prison Service does not charge for their bed and board - despite the fact that many are earning thousands.

The revelation follows Labour's decision to free thousands of convicts 18 days early to reduce prison overcrowding.

Critics pointed out that inmates could use their cars to abscond, and have described this practice as a mockery of the justice system.

Earlier this month, convicted triple killer Martyn Hughes, 50, absconded from Sudbury Open Prison in Derbyshire using his own car then committed suicide in the vehicle.

However, the government and the prison system authorities have countered this charge by saying that the cost of keeping an inmate behind bars roughly works out to 32,000 pounds a year.

It says that it makes both economic and logistical sense for prisoners to be allowed to use their own vehicles.
In the last year, 550 prisoners including murderers and rapists have escaped from open prisons. About 8,000 have fled in the last ten years, with the current rate standing at about 40 each month.  (With Inputs from ANI)