Inside the probation hostel where two dangerous criminals went on the run: BBC ... trends now

They are meant to be used to house and supervise murderers, paedophiles, rapists, and thugs before they are allowed to run free in society. 

But dangerous criminals are running away from one probation hostel where a member of staff was caught falsifying signing in records for a released sex offender. 

Secret filming as part of a six week BBC Panorama investigation uncovered a litany of staggering failures at Fleming House, in Maidstone, Kent. 

The hidden camera, being worn by an undercover reporter, captured one female member of staff laughing as she boasted about doing 'sod all' and not being 'bothered' to carry out room searches. 

Drugs and breathalyser tests were also not being carried out as plastic tubes had not been ordered by staff or because the hostel had run out of money.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) says drug testing was done entirely in accordance with official guidance and the frequency of alcohol tests is a decision for probation officers.   

During the documentary, a sex offender goes missing for two days before being found 11 miles from the home of a vulnerable woman who says he 'groomed' her when she was a teen. 

While a violent thug, jailed for 12 years for torturing and slashing the face of an autistic man, is only given minimal restrictions and does not return for his 9.30pm curfew just six days after arriving at Fleming House. 

The sex offender who was able to run away from the hostel during the secret filming was Anthony Bullman. 

He had been convicted of sexually assaulting a young woman in 2020 and has been assessed by the Probation Service as a danger to teenage girls.

He had previously run away from the same hostel when he was on probation two years earlier. Police suspected then that he had met a 16-year-old girl whom he had befriended online.

On that occasion, he was eventually arrested for breaking a ban on talking to under-18s and temporarily recalled to prison, but was not charged.

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Like all residents, Bullman had restrictions on what he was allowed to do while on probation. These restrictions are called licence conditions and are set in prison, according to the risk an offender poses to the public.

If the restrictions are broken, the offender can be sent back to prison.

As part of his licence conditions, Bullman was required to sign in four times a day at the hostel's office. He was routinely late or did not bother to sign in, however.

One evening when Bullman was 20 minutes late, a junior member of staff called a residential worker, asked the Panorama reporter to falsify a sign-in so it appeared as though Bullman had arrived on time.

'Just write him in for seven. I'm not bothered today, I've worked too hard already,' he said.

When the reporter didn't do it, the staff member falsified the record himself.

The MoJ says it records show Bullman was always present at Fleming House and at no point was he any later than 30 minutes to sign ins. They say he was punished accordingly.  

Philip Wheatley, the director general of the National Offender Management Service from 2008 to 2010, viewed the footage. He said the falsification of records could give a 'false alibi' if the offender was subsequently investigated for an offence.

'It's crucial that recording is done properly, and that failures by somebody who is known to be a known absconder are logged and passed back to the probation officer,' he said.

Two weeks later, Bullman ran away from Fleming House before being arrested two days later near to the home of a vulnerable woman who says he had 'groomed' when she was a teenager. 

The sex offender wasn't the only criminal who ran away from the probation hostel.

Jordan Battams was sentenced to 12 years in prison for grievous bodily harm after he tortured and slashed the face of an autistic man.

He was released on licence after eight years.