A murderer who was serving a minimum of 30 years in prison is on the run after two armed men helped him escape during an escorted hospital visit.

Shaun Colin Walmsley, 28, fled from outside Aintree University Hospital as he was getting into a car with prison officers.

Merseyside Police said two men believed to be armed with a gun and a knife, threatened the officers and demanded they release Walmsley, before making off in a gold-coloured Volvo.

Walmsley was remanded in custody at HMP Liverpool after being sentenced to life imprisonment in June 2015, with a 30-year tariff, for the murder of Anthony Duffy.