A man who allegedly escaped from Hobart's Risdon Prison has been recaptured by police within 20 minutes, after the vehicle he was travelling in had its wheels spiked.
Police said the 35-year-old escaped custody on foot about 9:05am before stealing a ute from the driveway of a nearby Risdon Vale residence.
It is understood the man, who was from the minimum security area of the prison, walked out of a construction site near the women's prison.
Police cars and the rescue helicopter searched for the man, and he and the stolen ute were found about 20 minutes later near the Jordan River Bridge at Gagebrook, about 15 kilometres away.
The ute's tires were spiked and it came to a stop on the Bridgewater side of the bridge. The prisoner suffered minor injuries and was arrested.
Inspector Brett Berry said a police officer also received minor injuries when their car collided with the escapee's stolen ute.
Prisoner unaware of shotgun inside ute
The prisoner was unarmed, however police found there was an unloaded shotgun in a lock box inside the car, Inspector Berry said.
"The offender was not aware of the firearm and did not have access to it at any stage," he said.
The prisoner's car also collided with a car driven by a member of the public during the escape. The driver of that car was not injured.
"The time between being notified of the offender's escape and the man being taken safely into custody was just 20 minutes," Inspector Berry said.
"It's testament to the excellent police work of all involved and helpful information from the community."
Police have asked anyone with information or dash-cam footage of a white Ford Ranger ute, registration E10CV, to come forward.
Police investigations into the incident are ongoing.
Inspector Berry said the prison system was also investigating how the escape was allowed to happen.
