SHOCKING footage shows a prison officer punched to the floor by an out-of-control inmate – as other prisoners cheer him on.
The prisoner bursts out of his cell at HMP Hewell in Redditch, Worcestershire, and squares up to two guards who raise their fists in a boxing stance.
The con then lashes out at one of the guards, catching him in the face and knocking him to the ground.
The desperate scuffle happened last March but footage of the scrap only emerged this week.
Last summer, specialist anti-riot officers were called to the same prison after inmates damaged a wing and refused to follow guards’ orders. Last month, an inmate was arrested on suspicion of murder following the death of a 39-year-old prisoner.
The jail, which opened in 2008, has an official capacity of 1,261 and was described as “violent and overcrowded” in a 2014 report by the Chief Inspector of Prisons.
The footage, filmed from a CCTV camera, appeared on a Facebook page dedicated to the Handsworth area of Birmingham.
The video starts with one of the guards running to a cell to assist another guard who is standing in the doorway.
There are other prisoners walking around with plates of food peering into the cell as they anticipate an incident.
An inmate then bursts out of the cell, pushing the guard in the doorway several feet into the common area.
The inmate then starts swinging at the tall guard who came running to assist. The guard is knocked to the ground after he is punched in the face.
Other prisoners start leaping with joy at what they’re seeing, goading on the irate inmate, who then starts punching the smaller guard, knocking him back several feet, as he cowers waiting for more assistance.
The inmate then tries kicking the guard who is lying on the ground, who quickly gets back to this feet.
A third and fourth prison guard finally arrive on the scene and grapple the inmate from behind. Prisoners continue to egg their fellow inmate on.
With the help of a fifth guard the inmate is finally wrestled to the ground as prisoners congregate around the scrum to get a better view.
The video has over 80 thousand views on social media.
On social media, Andy Sexton commented: “Sadly all these young guys f*****g their lives up by doing the wrong thing and ending up in prison, unfortunately they don’t have positive role models, all getting excited over a scrap, p*** paw existence sadly.”
Kelly Worrallo said: “Sick of seeing this kinda s. And for all the other blokes egging it on, every single one of them f*****s would be locked in their cell from morning til’ night if I f****** worked there. Walking round not a care in the world.
“They’re meant to be being punished. This is why England is so fd. Prison ain’t no punishment. It’s a walk in the f****** park.”
A Prison Service spokesman said: “We do not tolerate any violence against staff, and referred this to the police as soon as it happened.
“The offender involved was stripped of his privileges and we are urgently working to remove the content from social media.
“When incidents like this occur we will always work closely with the police to push for the strongest possible penalties.”
Mark Fairhurst, head of the prison officers’ trade union, POA, said: “This highlights yet another sickening and cowardly attack on prison officers who routinely do their job.
“It is noticeable that staff are greatly outnumbered and other prisoners cajole and encourage the attack.
“The POA are now calling on the government and [prisons] to roll out PAVA spray to all operational staff on the frontline.
“We must be supported and given the resources to do our job.”
He continued: “I hope the coward who attacked staff will be handed a hefty sentence for this unprovoked assault on staff.
“The public need to recognise the unacceptably violent workplace that Prison Officers inhabit to protect them. Expecting Prison Officers to work into their late sixties is unrealistic. As an essential public service the POA demand that the retirement age of 60 for Prison Officers is reinstated.
“Would you want your grandparents dealing with violent young men?”
