12 Insane Real-Life Prison Breaks You Won't Believe

Prison breaks are mind-bending incidents. How is it possible that a prisoner - or several - could even dream about tooling together minimal supplies to make a bold dash for the exit door? Murderers, rapists, fraudsters, and all kinds of criminals have managed to flee their confined prison blocks, with some vanishing into thin air, never to be seen again, or at least never to be recognised again. Some of the most famous prison breaks have been documented in films such as Escape From Alcatraz and, going back to WWII POW camps, The Great Escape, while the fictional Shawshank Redemption remains one of the greatest films ever made. As horrendous as the experience must be for locals near prisons when rare escape attempts do work, it's impossible not to be enthralled by the daring, exciting nature of each burst for freedom. For all you simply can't condone a person's atrocious crimes or the escape itself, you sometimes have to respect the sheer ingenuity of some plots, while others are so farcical, it's impossible to believe they actually worked. Here are some of the most jaw-dropping, successful prison breaks in history... Just in case you need any tips.