JAILED solicitor Jeremy Cave was handcuffed and flanked by two prison guards while in hospital, it was revealed last night.

Civil liberties campaigners hit out after discovering that Cave had been cuffed despite suffering a massive heart attack.

The former North Yorkshire coroner - jailed for three-and-a-half years after being found guilty of swindling £155,000 from the estates of dead clients - collapsed in Holme House Prison, Stockton, last week.

Prison authorities declined to comment last night but sources said the 53-year-old was handcuffed to a prison guard while in hospital.

He also had another guard constantly in attendance while he was undergoing treatment at two hospitals - the University Hospital of North Tees, in Stockton, and the James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough.

Visitors to Cave were also vetted by the guards, according to the source.

Cave's solicitor, Peter Boddy, who runs a practice in Darlington, last night said he could not comment, but is believed to have written a letter to the governor of Holme House Prison complaining about the treatment.

Civil liberties and prison reform groups last night reacted angrily to the news.

Gareth Crossman, head of policy at civil rights group Liberty, said: "This is totally inappropriate. If there is a risk that a prisoner might abscond, then it might be necessary to handcuff somebody. But in cases like this, it is wrong.

"Several years ago, a woman prisoner was handcuffed while giving birth and the prison service was severely admonished.

"The fact is that someone who has a heart attack is in no position to abscond. It is totally degrading treatment."

A spokesman for the Prison Reform Service said: "This treatment is excessive and I would recommend that a complaint was made to the prison ombudsman."

A Holme House Prison spokesman said it was common practice for prisoners to be accompanied to hospital.

The use of handcuffs was decided on an individual basis, he said.