David Johnson pictured after escaping Nowra prison

Police have released images of a prison escapee strolling around a busy shopping area, as a manhunt ramps up almost a week after he fled a South Coast jail.

Prison escapee David Johnson walks through a busy shopping area. Picture: NSW Police

Police have released images of a prison escapee strolling around a busy shopping area, as a manhunt ramps up almost a week after he fled a South Coast jail.

David Johnson escaped from a minimum-security facility in Nowra last Wednesday.

As he remained at large five days on, police released CCTV images of the 44-year-old wearing clothes that included a grey singlet, khaki shorts and black thongs.

In one of the pictures, a barefoot Johnson was also wearing a jacket and carrying what appeared to be a bottle.

Asked where the pictures had been taken, a NSW Police spokeswoman said she did not have that information on hand.

David Johnson in an image released by police. Picture: NSW Police

Police said Johnson was known to frequent the ACT, Queanbeyan and Wollongong areas.

He is described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 185cm tall, with a medium build, brown hair, blue eyes and a goatee-style beard.

“He has a number of distinctive tattoos, including a dragon or snake over his right shoulder, a large animal on his thigh and a name across his back, possibly ‘Kayla’,” police said.

Anyone who sees Johnson is urged not to approach him and to instead call triple-0 immediately.

Originally published as David Johnson pictured after escaping Nowra prison