Officers face chilling threats of violence after failed prison visit

Chilling threats of violence were delivered to staff at Perth Prison after visitors were denied the chance to see loved ones.

Gordon Banks threatened to stab prison officers, promising them he would be waiting for them when they finished work.

He told one: “I’m going to come back when you’re not protected by cameras”, adding: “I’ll slash you. You’ll get stabbed.”

Perth Sheriff Court heard the 39-year-old had accompanied a female friend to HMP Perth where she had hoped to see her partner.

When that was not possible, the court heard she’d left in tears, prompting Banks to turn on prison officers.

One of his threats was delivered by Banks as he drove past one bemused and understandably concerned prison officer who was just arriving for work.

Banks, of Morris Court in Perth, admitted behaving in a threatening and abusive manner and repeatedly threatening prison staff with violence on October 15 last year.

Solicitor David Holmes said it had been some years since his client had spent time in custody and urged Sheriff Linda Smith to deal with the matter right away.

The sheriff, however, deferred the matter for social work reports, given the serious nature of the comments made, leaving all sentencing options open, including imprisonment.

Meanwhile, Martin Henderson, of Skelton Road in Methven, was fined £260 after he admitted assaulting a man at the Victoria Hotel.

The 35-year-old former soldier pled guilty to punching his victim twice on the head and kicking him on the body on October 23 last year.