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Bedford Prison Officer needed life saving surgery after being attacked by inmate

A prison officer has suffered head injuries after being seriously assaulted by an inmate at Bedford jail.

The officer was stamped on the head and needed life-saving surgery to relieve pressure on his brain.

Bedford Prison Credit: ITV Anglia

The prisoner involved was moved into a segregated unit and has since been transferred to another prison.

The POA, which represents Prison Officers, is calling for action to stop what it says is a rise in assaults and an 'obsession with appeasing prisoners instead of regaining control of Prisons'

"The safety of staff is non-negotiable and this cowardly attack on a member of staff, who was bravely trying to protect prisoners demonstrates the extreme dangers that Prison Officers face throughout the country. HMP Bedford has suffered too much from violent episodes and the insistence that large groups of prisoners are unlocked must be changed. We need safe regimes that ensure staff can quell violence as it occurs. We are now demanding that all staff are given the tools to keep them safe and we now insist that PAVA spray is rolled out nationally without delay. No High Court Injunction will prevent the POA from protecting the Health and Safety of its staff. The time for excuses from HMPPS has now passed. They need to act immediately to prevent the crisis in our Prisons from escalating. I do not wish to be announcing the death of an Officer because our Employer failed in their duty of care towards staff".

– Mark Fairhurst, National Chair of the POA