Inmate receives four years for prison officer attack

A prisoner convicted of the murder of a homeless man has had his sentence extended after breaking a prison officer's jaw.

Charlie White, 25, attacked the man from behind at HMP Whitemoor, March, Cambridgeshire, on 23 September 2022.

Det Con Emma Purser said: "The ferocity of the attack has left the victim with ongoing nerve damage and numbness."

White denied assault causing grievous bodily harm with intent at Peterborough Crown Court, but was found guilty and sentenced to four years in jail.

Cambridgeshire Police said he knocked the prison officer to the ground, tried to knee him in the face and wrapped his arms around the victim's neck.

Several other officers were needed to loosen his grip around the man's neck.

The officer was taken to hospital to have plates inserted into his broken jaw and also received fractures to his cheek bones and eye socket, said Cambridgeshire Police.

The incident followed a routine inspection of White's cell in June, when the victim and a colleague found an improvised weapon.

White admitted unauthorised possession of an offensive weapon in prison.

Det Con Purser said: "This was a cowardly unprovoked attack on someone who was just trying to do their job.

"Fortunately, the other prison officers were quickly on scene and prevented him from suffering further injuries."

White is serving a life sentence, with a minimum term of 16 years, after being found guilty of murdering Razvan Sirbu, 21, at Tovil, near Maidstone, Kent.

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