OFFICERS hunted for a stabbing suspect for a week before he handed himself in, later telling a jury he did not want a wound to become infected inside a police cell.

After Alex Potter stabbed Lee Jackson in April this year, he and partner Bibi Stone left their victim’s flat with a jar of change, wallet and tobacco.

Stone smashed the jar of change on the floor, telling the court that she didn’t think Mr Jackson deserved the money and that she wanted the homeless to have it instead.

Potter threw Mr Jackson’s wallet against a wall and the two went into the Southway underpass where a police cordon was later set up.

Police arrested Stone, who later admitted criminal damage, but Potter went on the run, sparking a police search.

Speaking at the time, Essex Police Chief Constable BJ Harrington told the Gazette the force would be “relentless” in its search for the defendant.

He said: “When people don't want to be found, they go to ground - they go to ground in the community.

“People hide them, and family and friends will assist them.

“Our search is relentless. We don't give up, and very often if they go abroad, they come back and are greeted by police on the steps of an aircraft.”

Ipswich Crown Court heard Potter handed himself in a week later and was arrested and charged.