A PRISONER thought he was going to die after being savagely attacked in the shower block by a former cellmate.

The Mexican inmate was transferred to another cell at Durham Prison after earlier being threatened by Daley Cartwright over the return of a jumper he believed he had taken.

But on June 16, last year, Cartwright made further threats to attack the now former cellmate.

Durham Crown Court heard Cartwright approached him in the shower area, asking for the jumper, before striking him with a razor blade, causing slash wounds from his temple, across the face, and over his chest.

Peter Sabiston, prosecuting, said the wounded inmate staggered out of the shower area covered in blood, shouting for help, struggling to remain conscious, fearing if the blacked out he may never come around.

Such was the loss of blood that a prison nurse described it flowing like a waterfall down stairs as she approached to provide first aid.

She struggled to stem the flow of blood, aided by prison officers, and described the injuries as the worst she has had to deal with in all her years working in the Prison Service.

The prisoner was given oxygen at one point as he was unresponsive and was taken to hospital with bandages applied to stem the blood loss.

On arrival at hospital he responded well to intravenous fluids and was treated with stitches and steri-strips for slash wounds of 25cm across the face and 10cm to the chest, leaving him permanently scarred.

In a impact statement read to the court he said he was struggling to come to terms with what happened, which left him traumatised and suffering nightmares, as he feared he would die.

Mr Sabiston said, in interview, Cartwright claimed when he went to the showers there was already a fight taking place and he was not responsible.

In the earlier incident, while he was detained at a police station in Wallsend, Cartwright was unhappy at missing a court appearance and launched an attack on a female custody officer in a corridor, on April 3, last year.

Due to a closed door the officer was unable to raise the alarm and was repeatedly punched by Cartwright, who simply walked away and returned to his cell after ceasing the attack.

She suffered extensive injuries to her face and jaw, back and left arm, and such was the impact of the attack she has left her job at the detention centre and will never work in a custody environment, in future.

The 33-year-old defendant, of Seaton Delaval, Northumberland, admitted wounding with intent and assaulting an emergency worker.

Jamie Adams, in mitigation, told the court: “Hearing of these offences makes the blood boil. It’s understandable.

“Can I say, at once, the defendant accepts that, and that is the way he now feels towards himself.

“These were two awful offences that took place some time ago, last year.

“He’s been holed up in prison on remand since and has had a lot of time to think and attitudes do change.

“He acknowledges that he will receive a long sentence and welcomes that because of his new-

found way of thinking.”

Judge Ray Singh described his attack on the custody officer as, “ferocious, frenzied and sustained”, while the prison razor assault was pre-planned and could have resulted in a fatality.

Despite Cartwright’s apparent change of attitude, he said he considers him a “dangerous” offender, posing a “significant risk” of causing serious harm in future.

He imposed an extended determinate sentence of seven-and-a-half years custodial element, of which the Cartwright must serve at least two-thirds before being considered for parole, followed by an extended licence period of three-and-a-half years.

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