Stabbed prison officer ‘thought he would die’ (From The Northern Echo)

Stabbed prison officer ‘thought he would die’

8:46am Tuesday 16th March 2010 in

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A PRISON officer stabbed while on duty at a high security jail thought he was going to die, his brother has revealed.

Craig Wylde suffered a severed artery in his arm after an inmate at Frankland Prison, near Durham City, slashed him with a shard of glass said to be from a broken vinegar bottle.

The 28-year-old, from Durham, was left fighting for his life after the attack.

His condition improved yesterday, and he was moved from Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in Gateshead, to Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary, where his condition was stable.

However, Mr Wylde could still lose some use of his arm.

His brother, Lee Wylde, said: “He’s the closest this country’s had to a prison officer being murdered.

“My brother himself thought he was gone.

“He could feel himself going. He could feel himself slipping away. He’s very lucky he ran out of the cell.”

Two other officers were also injured in the attack, which took place shortly after 9am on Saturday, on the prison’s Gwing, when they opened the inmate’s cell door.

The incident has reignited the debate over security in Britain’s prisons, with calls for glass to be banned and officers to be given stab vests.

The Prison Officers’ Association has demanded an inquiry into the incident.

Mr Wylde, 34, said: “Giving prisoners glass is like giving the Taliban all our helicopters and machine guns. It could only happen in this country.

“Prison officers should absolutely be given stab vests.

Not having them is like going into a fight armed with a tooth pick. It seems to me prisoners get more rights when they go into jail. It’s a disgrace.”

Craig Wylde, who is not married, has worked at Frankland Prison for four years.

His injured colleagues, a man and a woman, have been released from hospital, the woman after undergoing surgery.

Frankland is home to some of the country’s most dangerous criminals. The inmate involved in Saturday’s attack, who is understood to be serving a life sentence, has since been moved to another prison.

A police investigation into the incident is continuing.