PRISON STAFF TAKE BEATING
Teens leave 8 officers in hospital
YOUNG thugs put eight prison officers in hospital during a mass brawl.
Trouble erupted between 20 youths on the exercise yard at HM Prison Cookham Wood.
The cons turned on staff at the jail near Rochester, Kent, as they tried to stop the battle on April 15.
One officer was beaten to the ground and kicked in the head.
Seven others sustained injuries ranging from cuts to a broken cheek bone. All were treated at a local hospital.
A source said: “It was basically a mob attack. One minute they were exercising and the next they were ANDY GARDNER fighting each other. When staff intervened they turned on them in a co-ordinated assault.
“Officers were punched, kicked and were lucky not to have been seriously hurt.”
The attack happened at 9.30am and involved various teenagers from A2 and B1 landings.
They were exercising on B wing at the young offenders institute, for 15 to 18-year-olds.
Injured staff also suffered concussion, cuts, abrasions and even a broken tooth. None of the young lags were hurt. Glyn Travis
One of the women clawed and grabbed at the other’s nose, before they fell squabbling to the ground in Hartlepool, County Durham. One later brandished her shoe.
The row came as Ukip leader Paul Nuttall hit the town on his campaign trail. He is vying to become the MP for Skegness and Boston. Witnesses to the brawl claimed one of the women screamed: “There was no need for that – look at what you’ve done. I’m 62 years old.”
A Cleveland Police spokesman said: “Two females, one aged 62 and the other aged 28, were arrested for assault. Inquiries are ongoing.” of the Prison Officers Association said: “This was a very serious incident. Prison officers have been subjected to sustained assaults while doing their jobs.
“They deserve great praise – and they also deserve to be supported by the Prison Service.”
An HM Inspectorate of Prisons report in January highlighted increased violence at the jail which houses 178 young men.
It said assaults on staff had risen by nearly a third since the last inspection. Prior to the check-up, more than 100 violent incidents were recorded in six months.
The Ministry of Justice was asked to comment but failed to respond.