Prison officer 'left in pool of blood after inmate's attack'

Steven Gough "suffered a knock-out punch felling him to the floor" where his head was then stamped on, Nadim Bashir, prosecuting, told Leeds Crown Court yesterday.

He told the jury it was the Crown's case his attacker was Mohammed Osman Sherafzar, who was on remand on B wing.

Mr Bashir said Mr Gough had no recollection of events after speaking to Sherafzar on the landing, seeing him with a clenched fist, and waking up in hospital.

Another prison officer raised the alarm after he claimed he saw Osman, as he was known, stamping on something, then realised it was a fellow officer.

Sherafzar, 39, denies causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Mr Gough on April 27.

A second defendant, Hassan Ahmed, 25, denies doing an act tending to pervert the course of justice by washing shoes worn by Sherafzar in attempt to remove blood.

Mr Bashir said Mr Gough needed seven stitches to a wound on his forehead which bled heavily and in addition had four separate

areas of bleeding on the brain caused by fractures to his skull, two at the back and two at the front.

He said there was no dispute the officer was the victim of an attack and the issue for the jury was whether the prisoner responsible was Osman Sherafzar and whether Ahmed agreed to wash his trainers for him in the cell they shared.

He told the jury that officers would say they found Ahmed with wet hands and the trainers in a basin. He denied any knowledge of the trainers and told police he was laid on his bed at the time.

Giving evidence, Mr Gough said he had let prisoners on out of their cells for the 5.30pm association period when a buzzer went from cell 17 shared by Osman and Ahmed.

"He told me he should be out for every association because he was the health care rep."

The officer said he told Osman he thought another prisoner was already out as a rep but agreed to give him the benefit of the doubt, after he was told the other man was no longer acting as a rep.

He said subsequently he checked the position and when he saw Osman a short time later accused him in a humorous way of telling "porkies", but Osman replied aggressively "why are you checking on me?"

"I said it's my job. As he got closer he had his right hand down his side clenching his fist. I said 'we are not going to fall out over this, just go and enjoy your association'. That's the last thing I remember."

Abbas Lakha QC, defending Osman Sherafzar, suggested to Mr Gough in cross-examination he had been punched from behind by someone else, not Osman.

"I can't remember being punched at all," he replied.

Prison Officer David Smith told the jury he was on the second landing.

"I heard a noise above me, like a thudding noise and I looked up and saw Mr Osman.

"He was stamping on something almost directly above me.

"Just for a second I didn't realise what it was. I thought 'what's he doing' then almost immediately I saw like a white shirt, sort of rolled against the railing."

He then realised it was a fellow officer. He said the prisoner had one hand on the railing and stamped at least twice, possibly three times. He shouted "staff" and pressed the alarm before running up the stairs.

When he got to that landing he saw Osman walking away and saw his colleague lying motionless with blood over his face and a pool of blood around his head. "I thought he was dead."

While others helped Mr Gough he and another officer went to cell 23 where they found Osman behind a privacy curtain sitting on the toilet and he denied responsibility.

His own cell was then unlocked and he was put back in with Ahmed.

Mr Lakha suggested at no stage had he seen Osman stamping on anyone but the officer said: "I know what I saw."

The trial continues.