A man who was locked up because his new job breached parole conditions has thanked the Gazette for getting him out.

Ashley Stanfield, 48, was jailed for 10 weeks because his shifts as a delivery driver broke his curfew, even though his parole officer had told him it was OK.

Mr Stanfield, of Blackstock Road, Finsbury Park, had previously been in a low-security, open prison, but after the mix-up he was placed in tough HMP Pentonville.

He said: “When it first happened I thought ‘Oh they’ll sort it out in a day or two’ but it went on and on and on.

“In the end I spent two and a half months in Pentonville – a category B prison. It’s totally different from an open prison.

“I want to thank the Gazette for getting things started on my release.

“I didn’t know anything about it, but one of the officers pushed a copy under my cell door.

“Because it was on the front page everyone saw it.

“Even the officers were saying I shouldn’t be there. But when we tried to sort my release before Christmas, guess what? Everyone was away on holiday.”

Since he got out on December 12, Mr Stanfield says no one has put their hand up for what happened.

“My case is like a hot potato – no one wants to touch it. One of the parole officers said he’s never heard of anything like it. There’s talk of us taking it to the High Court.

“But still no one takes responsibility. It’s like a mystery. Things are going well now, anyway.

“Once it’s over, it’s done I try not to ponder on it. The best thing is I got my old job back.”