Damien Featherstone managed to evade two Corrective Services officers about 1pm yesterday, bolting through an unsecured door between the local court and the cells before he dashed through the courtroom and out the door.

A Department of Corrective Services spokesperson said the incident, which follows a North Wollongong man’s alleged escape attempt just weeks ago, had resulted in the department instigating an immediate security risk assessment.

The spokesperson said the assessment would examine security in and around the court, focusing on a review of the layout and flooring of the building, procedures and control measures to minimise risk.

Featherstone was being led out of an upstairs courtroom to the cells yesterday when he dodged two officers, ran back into the court and fled from the courtroom.

Shocked onlookers, including Magistrate Michael Stoddart, watched as the 23-year-old darted through the court onto the upstairs balcony, taking just seconds to run through the door.

A quick-thinking court official issued a message over the loud-speaker, instantly sending several sheriffs into action.

Featherstone managed to travel only metres before he was detained by court staff.

Yesterday’s runner comes just weeks after another man also allegedly made a bold escape attempt, forcing the courtroom into lockdown as he jumped from his chair and ran out the door.

Adrian Carr allegedly fled the court after he was sentenced to jail, dashing towards the front entrance of the courthouse before he was detained by sheriffs.

Featherstone had been refused bail over a spate of armed robberies in the region, ‘‘sacking’’ his lawyer midway through a bail application to represent himself.

Police claim the Dapto man was involved in four robberies over the past two months on chemists in Dapto, Berkeley and Corrimal, often brandishing a meat cleaver, and had planned to commit another hold-up in late January.

Featherstone and co-accused Mark Christopher Dutton, 21, of Albion Park Rail, were each charged with robbery with an offensive weapon and one count of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and take and drive conveyance without consent.

They were both refused bail and will reappear in court on March 21. Police confirmed last night that Featherstone had been charged with escaping lawful custody.