A fugitive who posted fake social media updates in a bid to evade capture has been arrested.
Dean Noble, 33, from Barnsley, was detained in Skegness on Saturday after failing to present himself to begin a sentence imposed for violently attacking three people.
Noble was convicted in July of assaulting three people and initially given a suspended jail term, but, following an appeal, his sentence was quashed and he was sentenced to nine years in prison.
South Yorkshire Police said in a bid to avoid arrest Noble had attempted to use social media to pretend he was in other parts of the UK.
Det Sgt Rebecca Robinson warned that anyone who had been hiding Noble during his evasion would be identified and investigated.
She said: “Since Noble failed to present himself, we have relentlessly pursued every line of enquiry and tracked the movements of Noble to ensure he would be held responsible for his behaviour.
“He is a violent individual who had already accepted full responsibility for his brutal crimes and now will face the consequences of those actions.
“During our investigation into locating Noble, we issued harbouring notices to individuals who were suspected of assisting him in evading us.
“Harbouring a wanted person is a criminal offence, and I want to be clear that our investigation will continue and those who are suspected of assisting Noble will be identified.”
