A violent rapist who went on the run after disappearing from a Bradford hostel was behind bars today after being picked up by police.

A nationwide manhunt was launched after Kelly James Edney, 26, absconded from the Box Tree Cottage residential home at Four Lane Ends, Allerton Road, Allerton, on Monday.

He was yesterday found more than 250 miles away in Taunton, Somerset, where he had brutally raped a 16-year-old school girl eight years ago.

Police today said he would not be coming back to Bradford but would be returned to jail for breaching the terms of his prison licence.

Edney, who was convicted of the rape, was on licence from prison when he absconded.

A spokesman for Avon & Somerset Constabulary said: "He will be dealt with for breach of licence and so will be sent back to prison."

Following an appeal, several people contacted police after seeing Edney on a train from Leeds to London Kings Cross on Tuesday.

He was arrested just after 1pm yesterday after a sighting by a member of the public.

But there was anger in the Allerton area of the city that a man of Edney's character had been housed by the probation service in Box Tree Cottage near a housing estate and the Girls' Grammar School, Bradford.

Councillor Clive Richardson (Cons, Thornton and Allerton), vice-chairman of West Yorkshire Police Authority, claimed the placement had been a "total and awful misjudgement".

Today, he said: " I am pleased that he has been recaptured and will be dealt with properly. I am sure there will be an inquiry into what went wrong in this case."

And fellow Councillor Michael McCabe (Cons, Thornton and Allerton) praised the police for capturing Edney so quickly.

He said: "It is good news and I would like to praise the authorities for their quick response."

Superintendent Gary Davies, of Somerset & Avon Constabulary, said: "This was an excellent example of a co-ordinated police operation following information from a member of the public. "Once the information was given to police we were able to bring in the force helicopter and make an arrest as soon as possible while not putting any member of the public at risk."

A spokesman for the West Yorkshire Police confirmed Edney was currently in custody and would be returned to prison in due course. He added: "We would like to thank all the members of the public who rang in with sightings, which have assisted greatly with this investigation, and also the media for their assistance with this appeal."

Edney was also convicted of a series of hoax bomb threats while in Dartmoor Prison in 2003. He told the Samaritans he was going to blow up Gatwick and Heathrow Airports and Victoria train station in central London. The calls caused widespread panic at a time of heightened tension after the September 11 attacks and the subsequent war on terror. He admitted making 11 false threats over two months in 2003 at Southwark Crown Court a year later and was sentenced to four years.