Prison inmate in Austria delivered to freedom

VIENNA, Nov 3 (Reuters) A 36-year-old Bosnian escaped from an Austrian prison by getting himself shrink-wrapped with some parts for street lamps made by inmates and trucked out, the mass-circulation Kronen daily said.

The man, named as Muradif H., had been serving a seven-year term for burglary in the southern provincial city of Graz and was due for release in 2012.

Kronen said Muradif, who had a prison job making parts for street lamps, had himself wrapped in plastic with finished parts on a pallet and loaded into a truck on Tuesday.

Ten minutes after leaving the prison, the truck driver said he noticed a rip in the tarpaulin covering the pallets and stopped to check.

''Just at this moment I got a call on my mobile phone from the prison: 'Did you notice anything? We are missing an inmate','' the truck driver was quoted as saying on Kronen's Web site.

Austrian police were searching for the escapee.

REUTERS SHB SSC1038