Prison inmates ran amok after brewing alcohol

Several prisoners drank from a secret stash of "hooch", apparently made from bread, fruit and sugar, at the privately run Category B Wolds Prison, near Hull.

A fight between inmates on the full-to-capacity Echo wing nearly ended in a riot and four prison officers were injured in the brawl. Colleagues thought one of the officers had died but he later recovered.

Doncaster Crown Court heard that disorder broke out on the evening of June 10 last year after the hooch was found in several cells.

When inmate Benjamin Fawcett was put on report he became incensed and sparked a fight with another prisoner, which led to a disturbance involving up to 20 prisoners. Warders then had to intervene.

Tom Gent, prosecuting, told the court that empty containers of hooch that had been manufactured on the wing were found in several cells.

After an exercise session the prisoners became rowdy and it was obvious they had been drinking, he said.

Fearing trouble, the prison authorities called in reinforcements. But shortly afterwards the fight broke out, in which prison officer Jonathan Lord was punched in the head by Nathan Newey. He was knocked to the ground, where further punches were landed on him.

Mr Lord curled up in a ball on the floor before losing consciousness, and one colleague initially thought he was dead.

He suffered bruising and swelling to his face and had to have his nose re-set.

Another officer, Roy McLean, who tried to stop the fight, was attacked by Fawcett who used his feet. Mr McLean suffered a torn eye retina, which needed surgery.

As he went to help his colleagues, prison officer Kevin Hartley was punched in the right eye and he fell to the floor.

Fawcett, 23, from Scarborough and Newey, 23, from Rawmarsh, Rotherham, both admitted affray.

In addition, Fawcett admitted assaulting Mr McLean, causing grievous bodily harm.

Both defendants at the prison, run by security firm G4S, are currently serving four-year jail terms for robbery.

Another Wolds inmate, Scott Mellor, 24, of New Lodge, Barnsley, was cleared of assaulting prison officer Hartley after a trial.

Fawcett was given a further three-year jail term on top of his current sentence and Newey was sentenced to serve a further 18 months behind bars.

The court heard four of the attacked prison officers had been unable to return to normal duties, nine months after the brawl.

Jailing Fawcett and Newey, Judge Jacqueline Davies

told them they had

inflicted "appalling violence" that night.

She said: "Prison officers have a difficult enough role in the prison looking after people like yourselves without exposure to this kind of alcohol-induced violence.

"This was an incident which could have escalated, but the action of the prison officers prevented that escalation."