CONVICTED murderer William Kerr who was wanted for emergency recall to prison has been arrested in London.

Kerr, 53, absconded from an approved premises in Hull on March 26, which was a breach of his licence conditions and resulted in a nationwide search to trace him, led by North Yorkshire Police.

Following an appeal on BBC’s Crimewatch on Thursday, officers received information which led them to the Waterloo area of London. Kerr was arrested in the street at around 7pm last night.

Detective Inspector Eamonn Clarke, of North Yorkshire Police, who led the search for Kerr, said: “Thanks to some information received following the Crimewatch appeal and some further information passed to Crimestoppers we were able to track Kerr to a specific area of London.

“The information was vital to the effort to trace Kerr as he indicated when he was arrested that he was about to leave the London area after seeing himself on Crimewatch. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people who came forward.

“I would also like to thank the Metropolitan Police for the assistance they have given us in our efforts to locate Kerr.”

Kerr was living at an address in Skipton when he was jailed for life for murder at Leeds Crown Court on June 26, 1998.