FUGITIVE Craig "Lazie" Lynch has had his personal profile removed from a social networking site after using it to taunt police.

Facebook blacklisted the runaway convict on Thursday after his fan page attracted nearly 41,000 followers.

However, his fan page remains on the site and has been taken over by "Nas", who posts regular updates.

Lynch, 28, formerly of Edgware, was handed a seven-year jail term for aggravated burglary but escaped from Hollesley Bay Open Prison, in Suffolk, in September.

Yesterday, at 4.14am, Nas wrote: "Craig has gotten in touch briefly a few times today, he's okay he just needs to handle some things and settle in before he comes back online.

"(The good news was supposed to be him uploading a video celebrating New Years.... we'll have to wait for that now.)"

The post attracted 1,268 comments, including residents of the United States, UK, Germany, Canada and Australia.

"Al Lazy" wrote: "hey chris, lets not lose site [sic] of why we came on here as fans, we found the fact that a fugitive had a facebook page was funni [sic], we got to know him as craig, met some great people, and support the way he snubbed the system..."

Despite his current absence from the site, Lynch's fan base continues to grow. He now has nearly 10,000 fans in the US and nearly 7,500 in the UK.

Suffolk police are still appealing for help catching him, but have refused to comment on details published through his Facebook page.

Anyone with information can contact officers on 01473 613 500.