A CONVICTED killer who stabbed a teacher to death could be at large in Hampshire after escaping from prison.

Jamie Frater, 38, was convicted of murdering 45-year-old Geoffrey du Rose and jailed for life in 1993.

Now members of the public in Hampshire are being warned to be vigilant as he may have well come to the county where he is known to have friends and associates.

It is the second time Frater has gone on the run after disappearing from Leyhill Open Prison, near Bristol, in May 2001, less than two months after being transferred there from a more secure unit.

On that occasion he gave himself up and phoned police after making his way to Ferndown to visit his mother.

During his trial, Winchester Crown Court heard how Frater had been high on lighter fuel when he knifed Mr du Rose, a popular and respected PE teacher, as he chased him from the garden of his home in Holdenhurst Avenue, Bournemouth, in November 1992.

Frater was 19 at the time and trying to escape after stealing lighter fuel and cigarettes from a nearby shop.

As he tried to escape, Frater hijacked terrified Cheryl Thompson and forced her to drive across three counties before finally being arrested at gunpoint in Wiltshire.

He later told police he had attacked Mr du Rose because “he tried to be a hero”.

The 14.5cm blade severed a rib and caused injuries to Mr du Rose’s spleen, kidney, stomach and blood vessels. He died two days later in hospital.

Following the five-day trial, Sgt Bob Lee described Frater as “cold and emotionless,” adding: “He has no regard for other decent members of society.”

Speaking after the case Mr du Rose’s brave widow Heather urged her husband’s killer to sort himself out while behind bars and “realise life has a lot to offer him”.

Kent police have revealed how Frater went on the run after failing to return to Blantyre House prison in Goudhurst, Kent, following work in the community on Monday.

He is described as white, 5ft 8in, with short, blond, receding hair. He has been at large since he was last seen at a charity shop in Headcorn, Kent, at 10am on Monday.

Anyone who has seen Frater or has any information about his whereabouts can call Kent police on 999.