A CONVICTED burglar who carried out a pre-meditated knife attack on a fellow inmate at a young offenders’ institution (YOI) told staff it was retribution for bullying, a court heard.

Anthony John Wakelin produced the improvised weapon, made from a blade moulded onto a tooth brush, and slashed the unsuspecting inmate three times about the face and neck as he was about to enter his cell at Deerbolt YOI, near Barnard Castle, on April 29, last year.

Durham Crown Court heard the brief, but repeated attack only ended when the bloodied victim sought help from a nearby prison officer.

He was given immediate assistance with a towel placed over his head to stem the blood flow, before being taken to hospital, where he received a total of 22 stitches, plus several suchures, to the slash wounds to his cheek, face and neck.

Wakelin walked off, discarding the knife in a bin, but it was later retrieved.

Anne Richardson, prosecuting, said when he was detained and questioned, he claimed to have been the subject of bullying, but staff had no record of any complaint by him, while the victim has refused to assist the prosecution.

The defendant, then aged 20, admitted wounding with intent and having unauthorised possession of a bladed article in a prison.

Wakelin, now 21, was said to be serving a sentence of nine-and-a-half years for his part in a large-scale burglary conspiracy in his native Hull, with an earliest release date of April 2021.

Gemma Jenkins, for the defendant, said it was a short-lived attack and the injuries were not life-threatening.

But, jailing him for a further eight years and three months, Judge Christopher Prince said it was a pre-meditated repeated assault, on a “vulnerable” man, not expecting to be attacked, with his back to the defendant at the time.

It means the defendant will not, now, be eligible for release until mid-2025.