No further action will be taken against a Hollesley Bay absconder who was the prime suspect after the theft of more than £500 from a charity shop.

The money and Leslie Gall disappeared from the Sue Ryder shop in Manningtree on the same day. The 53-year-old had been working at the store while on day release from the jail.

Gall – an armed robber with a history of violence - was recaptured in Edinburgh two days after going on the run.

Essex Police began an investigation into the theft of the money. However, it has now been deemed not to be in the public interest to pursue the inquiry as Gall is back in a secure prison serving a life sentence for holding a gun to a cashier’s head while robbing a Norwich bookmakers.

A spokesman for Essex Police said: “A suspect was traced. They are serving a lengthy prison sentence in a maximum security jail in relation to another matter.”

Gall left the Sue Ryder store in High Street, Manningtree, on February 11 on the pretext of popping out for lunch.

He had given no indication that he was going to abscond and had previously nipped out to a local supermarket during the morning to buy milk and coffee.

Gall had been working at premises for nearly a month. Before that he was working in the Sue Ryder shop in Hadleigh.

The charity said it was shocked by his disappearance, especially as he had spoken about trying to get a job with Sue Ryder after his release.

Gall had been in prison for 15 years after being jailed for life by Norwich Crown Court in January 1999.

Gall, formerly of Norwich, held up a Ladbrokes shop where he dragged a woman over the counter and held a handgun to her head. He also robbed a newsagent’s at gunpoint.

Previously Gall had been convicted of wounding with intent in Barnstaple, Devon, in 1991.