A multiple rapist on the run from prison for 13 years has slipped the net after he gave police officers a false name when he was arrested.

Detectives only realised that they had caught Shiraz Khan, 38, when fingerprint matches were carried out after he had been allowed to walk free on bail from a Bradford police station.

Today police appealed for information about the whereabouts of Khan, who was described by a judge as "a very great danger to the public" when he was jailed for life in 1984 at the age of 15 after he admitted the knife-point rapes of three women and attempted rapes of three others in the city's red light district. He is believed to have been living and working in Bradford under a false name since he escaped from Layhill Open Prison, Gloucester, in 1993.

He was finally arrested during a stop-and-search operation in Centenary Square, Bradford, last month on suspicion of harassment under his false name of Mohammed Fahad.

Khan was taken to Bradford Central police station then transferred to another police station in the Bradford North division before he was released on police bail to return on August 17.

Investigating officers only found out Khan was posing as Fahad after an officer found both names shared the same birth date and subsequent fingerprints checks matched.

West Yorkshire police have the technology to check identities from fingerprints through a live scan system within hours of arrest.

But this method is only used if the officer is suspicious that the person is hiding their identity, said Detective Inspector Melanie Siddall, of Bradford North CID, who is leading the hunt for Khan.

She said: "When Khan was arrested he gave a different name.

"We did not check him on live scan, because we were not suspicious of his identity. We get up to 50 prisoners a day so it's not possible to check everyone on the computer."

Police have appealed for sightings of Khan but have warned people not to approach him.

Khan, then of Spring Gardens, Manningham, was detained for life by a High Court judge.

Police have urged anyone with information about Khan to ring 999 or police on (01274) 376259.