Ex-soldier Daniel Khalife may have used bedsheets in his escape from Wandsworth prison, a court hearing has been told.

The 21-year-old attended Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday after four days on the run last week.

Mr Khalife was arrested on a towpath in Northolt in London on Saturday. He is accused of escaping from lawful custody.

Deputy chief magistrate Tan Ikram remanded him in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on 29 September.

Mr Khalife is accused of escaping on 6 September while on remand at HMP Wandsworth by strapping himself under a food delivery truck using a material which was “made from bedsheets with clips at each end”.

He only spoke to confirm his name and date of birth during the eight-minute hearing. His address was given as “of no fixed abode”.

Mr Khalife, wearing a police-issued tracksuit, was brought to court in an armoured police van accompanied by two unmarked cars.

In the dock he was accompanied by two police officers and one dock officer.

His barrister Gul Nawaz Hussain KC said there was no indication of plea at this stage.

At the time of Mr Khalife’s alleged escape he was in Wandsworth prison awaiting trial on charges of allegedly obtaining information useful to the enemy, eliciting information about members of the armed forces contrary to the Terrorism Act 2000, and perpetrating a bomb hoax.

Prosecutor Thomas Williams said the trial on those charges had been due to start on 13 November.

Additional reporting Andre Rhoden-Paul