IT has been nearly six weeks since Jonathan Kelly went on the run.

Despite a massive manhunt across Scotland, the violent fugitive, who once used a machete to paralyse a man, has outfoxed police, leaving his pursuers desperate for any shred of information.

Detectives say they are working "around the clock" but admit they are relying on the eyes of the public to alert them to the whereabouts of Britain's most wanted man.

With no sign of the 34-year-old, it is feared he could hide out for months.

His whereabouts are still a mystery to the outside world, leaving detectives with very little to go on. A huge social media campaign and nationwide appeal on BBC's Crimewatch have failed to set off the chain of events that would lead to the fugitive's capture.

Kelly left Low Moss Prison, near Glasgow, tagged and with 32 strict conditions on his freedom. He cut his electronic tag and became "unlawfully at large" for breaking his licence.

A month after his release, police and sharp-shooters blocked off a residential street, but a day-long search of the area failed to find him.

People who tried to return to their homes in Boyd Street, Govanhill, Glasgow on September 21 were met by armed police officers searching for Kelly.

Sources close to Kelly said he has vowed "never again to see the inside of a prison cell", sparking fears he may come out of hiding and attack police.

One insider said: "Kelly is a right bad b******.

"When he was inside, he'd spend most of his time boasting about all his crimes and he would brag about trying to attack the 'screws'. He would tell inmates, in graphic detail, the horrific attacks he had carried out on his victims. He enjoys it."

He is believed to be armed and it is understood that, because of the risk he poses, firearms officers will be drafted in to arrest him.

A senior police source said: "It will be at the point of arrest that he poses the biggest threat; that's why armed officers will be brought in."

The violent thug has been in and out of jail since the late 1990s, when he was just a teenager.

During that time, criminals' relationships with social media, and the internet as a whole, have dramatically changed.

One violent criminal who went on the run was caught earlier this month, after police tracked him down using a picture of a sunset that he posted on Facebook.

Kelly, however, is completely off-grid. He has no digital footprint.

He has no Facebook page, no Twitter account - there is no trace of him online.

Kelly has a string of convictions stretching back almost 20 years for offences including serious assaults, robbery and an assault to severe injury.

In 2002, he was jailed for a machete attack that left his victim paralysed.

While still in prison, Kelly wrote: "While on remand I told the screws not to put another con in my cell or I would be forced to hurt him.

"They put me in with a guy 20 years older than me.

"After only a couple of hours of being in the same cell, I cut his throat and repeatedly slashed and stabbed him. If it hadn't been for night staff, hearing the commotion and running in, he would have died."

Kelly was sentenced to five years for the assault and was moved to Kilmarnock jail, where he says he "lasted only three or four months before assaulting two prisoners".

After being transferred again, this time to prison in Perth, Kelly started a dirty protest. In 2008, he told how he threw a bucket of his own excrement and urine over prison guards.

Socks filled with heavy batteries and chair legs were turned into weapons by Kelly, and used in his attacks on fellow prisoners.

His appalling record has led to questions over why he was released.

Scottish Labour justice spokesman Graeme Pearson said there are "questions to be asked" over the case.

The former senior police officer said: "This is clearly a dangerous man still intent on causing harm to those he perceives to be against him. The police have all the intelligence at their disposal and I respect their assessment in this case.

"I think the question to be answered once this matter is concluded, however, is to ascertain who authorised his release under such strict conditions in the first place and what risk assessment was available at the time. I hope Kelly sees sense and gives himself up."

Westminster legislation means long-term prisoners must be released after two-thirds of their sentences, and the Scottish Government is trying to pass a law to end automatic release in some serious cases.