Mathew Allan Campbell allegedly escapes Muswellbrook courthouse before being arrested at Royal Hotel

An accused serial burglar has allegedly slipped out a country courthouse in a dash for freedom, only to be taken back into custody following an 80-minute manhunt – at a pub almost directly across the road.

The Royal Hotel at Muswellbrook. Picture: Supplied

An accused serial burglar who was refused bail on a dozen break-in charges has allegedly slipped out a country courthouse and made a mad dash for freedom, only to be taken back into custody 80 minutes later – at a pub almost directly across the road.

Mathew Allan Campbell, 46, allegedly fled one of Muswellbrook Courthouse’s two courtrooms on Monday afternoon, slipping down the building’s frightfully steep flight of stairs and through the front glass doors onto Bridge St, the Hunter town’s main road that doubles as the New England Highway.

It was 3.20pm when magistrate Kevin Hockey formally refused Campbell bail after the Scone man had unsuccessfully made a release application following his arrest over a spate of burglaries and attempted break-ins in the Upper Hunter town’s central business district.

Campbell had been arrested in the middle of sleepy Scone at 3.15am, with police alleging he was responsible for an earlier break-in of a premises that morning.

He would later be charged with eight counts of break and enter, two counts of break and enter with intent to steal, and two counts of attempted break and enter with intent to steal.

Muswellbrook Courthouse. Picture: Google Maps.

And it was on those charges that Campbell was being refused bail, to be held on remand until his next court appearance, when he is alleged to have broken into stride.

Local journalists have reported Campbell allegedly took off, with a sheriff and a police prosecutor giving chase before they lost him.

The back of the Royal Hotel at Muswellbrook. Picture: Supplied

The courthouse fronts onto Bridge St and while the town’s police station’s address is formally around the corner, the building backs onto the courthouse grounds.

Some 80 minutes into the manhunt, Campbell was back in custody after allegedly being found in the Royal Hotel almost directly across the road from the courthouse.

He wasn’t in the front bar playing pool and drinking schooners though, with officers allegedly finding him in a bathroom upstairs in the roomy country pub, which boasts pink paint and a wonderfully colourful history.

Campbell has since been charged with being an inmate escaping or attempting to escape from lawful custody.

He remains in custody on remand – it is understood he spent Monday night at the Newcastle lockup – and will reappear in court next month.