Mr Nicholson said he believed violent Martin (51) should not have been at the open prison, in the Carse of Gowrie, just three years into his decade-long sentence.

The career criminal escaped from Castle Huntly on Monday, three weeks after being transferred to the much-criticised institution from maximum security Shotts prison.

“I am quite sure this escape will have been planned, it was not a spur of the moment thing,” said Mr Nicholson. “He will have needed a vehicle nearby. Brian has got a lot of contacts from his time in various places and establishments. Certainly by now he will have people helping him out.”

The UK border agency has put Martin on a watch list amid fears he may attempt to flee the country.

In the mid 1990s he went on the run to Spain following a raid on a building society.

However, the retired detective said he believed the absconder was still in the country, and speculated that unfinished business might be behind his decision to escape.

“I don’t think he’s far, and the police will have to be prepared for anything,” continued Mr Nicholson, who was known to lawbreakers throughout his career as Jock Nick.

“The question you have got to ask is — has he got a reason to escape?

“Has he got something to do, or somebody to see?”

The Hawk, from Ballingry, was jailed for 10 years at the High Court in May, 2006, for firing a shotgun in a Fife man’s home the previous summer.

His criminal career began decades earlier, with the nature of his activities becoming ever more violent.

Recalled Mr Nicholson, “I used to cover the Ballingry area, and I have known Brian since I was a young policeman.

“At that time he was mostly involved in local stuff.

“Then he started to stretch out and got involved with other people in other areas of Scotland, and he was getting in robberies and things like that.”

He said Martin’s criminal career had included coming over on the ferry while living in Spain to commit robberies.

“To evade the authorities he used a false passport and a relative’s name.

However, after receiving intelligence about his activities, Mr Nicholson was there when Martin was captured coming off a crossing on the south coast.

He was jailed for 12 years in 1995 for holding a sawn-off shotgun at two policemen and robbing a building society at knifepoint.

He got a further 12 years to run concurrently for seven raids and two attempted robberies down south, and walked free from Saughton Prison, in Edinburgh, in 2003 having served two-thirds of his sentence.

The criminal was out on licence when the 2005 firearm incident occurred.

He went on the run and was arrested at a holiday cottage in Blairgowrie.

“Most situations with the Hawk during the 1990s involved firearms officers — they were quite dangerous situations — and it was the same with the last one,” said Mr Nicholson.

“I’m sure the police will take every precaution and there will be an armed response (when he is traced) for the safety of the police officers and public.”

There has been widespread criticism of the decision to place Martin in open conditions, having gone through what the authorities describe as a rigorous assessment process.

Criteria for moving to the open estate have been tightened following the case of Robert Foye, who raped a schoolgirl while on the run from Castle Huntly.

Asked if he thought Martin should have been at Castle Huntly, the retired detective said, “In my opinion, no.

“How that has happened I don’t know. The prison service will have taken into account his prison record, and he may have been a model prisoner.

“But one thing is certain — once he has gone on the run he is not an easy man to catch. And he will have learned from the mistakes he made in the past.”

Police hunting the absconder have said they are following a number of lines of inquiry, and, given his violent past are warning members of the public not to approach him.

Martin was last seen by prison staff in the Castle grounds around 1.15pm on Monday.

He is around 6ft 4in, of slim build, with deep set brown eyes and balding grey hair. He was wearing a blue tammy, a green fleece jacket with the Scottish Prison Service logo on it, light blue baggy denim jeans and black work boots.

He was also carrying a plastic bag thought to contain a pair of training shoes, a beige Gap jacket, a white Le Coq Sportif polo shirt, a blue Adidas t-shirt and a plain white t-shirt.

Anyone with information about Martin’s whereabouts should contact Tayside Police immediately on 0300 111 2222, or speak to any police officer.

Information can also be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

GIVE US A CALL, IS POLICE MESSAGE TO HAWK

Detectives searching for Brian Martin today made a direct appeal to him to “do the right thing” and get in touch (writes Steven Bell.)

While police in Tayside and his home region of Fife continue the hunt for the man known as The Hawk, members of the public have been warned not to approach him.

Detective Sergeant Jim Smith, based in Western Division CID, said, “We are working closely with our colleagues in Fife in a bid to establish Mr Martin’s whereabouts.

“I would urge Mr Martin to think long and hard about what he is doing, and to consider the long term consequences of his actions.

“There has obviously been a reason for him deciding to abscond from the prison, and he needs to talk to us about that.

“I’d like to make a direct appeal to Mr Martin to do the right thing and get in touch with us so that we can discuss what these issues might be.”

The career criminal is known to have friends and family in the Ballingry, Leven, Kinross, Kelty, Glenrothes and Lochgelly areas.