A potentially violent man is on the run from a Norfolk psychiatric hospital.Edward O'Neil absconded from Cawston Park at 6.45pm on Friday and may have made his way to the Bowthorpe area of Norwich.

A potentially violent man is on the run from a Norfolk psychiatric hospital.

Edward O'Neil absconded from Cawston Park at 6.45pm on Friday and may have made his way to the Bowthorpe area of Norwich.

Police said the 47-year-old Scot has served approximately a year of a four year prison sentence at Norwich Prison for distraction burglary offences.

He had been a patient at specialist psychiatric hospital Cawston Park, near Aylsham, in recent weeks where he had been undergoing medical assessment.

Police are appealing for any sightings or information about O'Neil, who is white, 5ft 4ins tall, clean shaven with short greying hair and was last seen wearing a dark-coloured tracksuit.

Two men were arrested by police last night on suspicion of assisting O'Neil to abscond and are currently being questioned at a Norfolk police station.

Detectives said they were making a large number of enquiries to trace O'Neil's whereabouts.

They added that O'Neil can be a "violent individual" and advised people not to approach him, but to report the matter to police immediately by dialling 999.

The accompanying photograph of O'Neil features him with a beard, but police believe he has now shaved it off.