Female prison officer attacked in HMP Littlehey

PA HMP LittleheyPA
The prison houses more than 1,000 male sex offenders

A female prison officer has been seriously assaulted at a jail housing male sex offenders.

Police confirmed an incident happened at HMP Littlehey in the village of Perry, near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire at about 09:40 GMT on Tuesday.

The officer was taken to hospital following the attack, police said.

A 27-year-old prisoner at the category C jail, which houses up to 1,206 adult male sex offenders, is under investigation following the incident.

A Cambridgeshire Police spokeswoman said officers were currently "investigating a serious assault of a prison officer" at the jail in Crow Spinney Lane.

A Prison Service spokeswoman confirmed an incident took place, but declined to give further details about what happened.

She said: "The prison is supporting the officer involved and this incident has been referred to the police.

"We do not tolerate any violence against our hardworking staff and will always push for the strongest punishment."