A MANHUNT is under way today after two prisoners escaped from a Portland prison.

The wanted men - Paul Stewart, 32, serving nine years for robbery, and Kristian Dolinski, 26, serving five years for burglary - broke out of HMP The Verne.

An officer spotted them jumping over the wall of the prison but they ran away.

Police said the pair, wearing blue prison uniforms, were again spotted by an off-duty prison officer in Portland Beach Road 30 minutes later, but escaped into the darkness.

Police were last night searching the Island and put up road blocks in Portland Beach Road.

They were continuing their hunt at first light today.

Acting Inspector John Foster, of Dorset Police, warned: "We would advise members of the public not to approach these men but to phone 999 immediately."

Stewart is 5ft 7ins tall, has scars on the back of his neck, tattoos on his arms and shoulders and a piece missing from his right ear.

Dolinski is 5ft 10ins, with a dark complexion, short black hair and facial stubble.

The men, both white, made their escape at 7.30pm.

Around 50 of The Verne's 600 prisoners are serving life sentences.

The jail accepts prisoners considered suitable for its open regime, especially those serving longer sentences.

It also specialises in holding foreign prisoners. According to the latest figures it holds around 300 foreign nationals from more than 50 countries.