The attack on the prison officer was branded “cowardly” after he was left with two large wounds to his face that could likely turn into scars that he will live with for the rest of his life
A prison officer was slashed across the face during an attack with a razor at Britain’s infamous ‘Monster Mansion’ jail.
The officer, in his 40s, risks being scarred for the rest of his life after an inmate allegedly attacked him at Wakefield Prison, West Yorkshire. The prison officer was taken to Pinderfields Hospital in the town he needed more than 30 stitches to the two wounds that stretched from the right eye to the corner of his mouth and the second from his cheek down to his lip.
The convict who allegedly is serving a life sentence for murder and reportedly has a violent history behind bars. He was moved to Wakefield Prison after he allegedly assaulted a prison guard at HMP Manchester.
The weapon used in the attack is understood to have been a blade from a disposable safety razor that was used to make a makeshift weapon. Safety razors are in the process of being removed to be replaced by electric ones at 31 of the more violent prisons in the country.
But the Prisons Officers Association believes the process is too slow and argued it is another danger that employees face at jails across the UK.
“It has taken six long years of campaigning for our employer to finally agree to remove razors from our prisons,” a Prison Officers Association spokesperson told the Mirror. “As this cowardly attack highlights, the actual progress in removing these weapons from our jails is painfully slow.
“There can be no excuses for this lethargy in removing razors from our prisons. We will fully support the member of staff who is now scarred for life and expect an appropriate charge and conviction in relation to this attack. This is yet another example of the dangers Prison Officers face at the frontline on a daily basis. Staff safety is non negotiable to the POA.”
An unnamed prison officer told MailOnline: “The officer’s wife also works in the prison as well, in admin, and her heart must have skipped a beat when she heard the emergency shout of ‘care team to F-wing.’ Once she heard what his name was, she immediately went to him and joined him in the ambulance.”
Photos showed several injuries to his face with his white shirt being covered in blood and have been shared in WhatsApp groups by fellow prison officers who are furious about the state of Britain’s prisons. According to the Department of Justice, there were 114 assaults on prison officers per 1,000 inmates in the six months leading up to June 2024.
The Mirror has contacted the DOJ for comment.