Prison officer, 25, airlifted to hospital after being stabbed by inmate at high-security prison
30 May 2025, 17:42 | Updated: 30 May 2025, 20:55
A prison officer has been stabbed by an inmate at HMP Long Lartin prison in Worcestershire, police said.
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Officers were called to the prison shortly after 10am after reports that the 25-year-old had been stabbed on Friday.
He was airlifted to hospital where he remains after sustaining serious injuries.
However, police have confirmed he is in a stable condition.
The inmate remains within the prison in South Littleton - a high security facility with over 600 prisoners.
A weapon has been recovered. An investigation is now underway.
Mark Fairhurst, National Chair of the Prison Officers’ Association, told LBC News the weapon may have been "delivered by drones".
Read more: Prisons are 'modern-day workhouses', Harry argues
A spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said: "Crews found a man who they treated for serious injuries before he was airlifted to hospital for further treatment.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: "Police are investigating an attack on a prison officer at HMP Long Lartin.
"We will not tolerate assaults on hardworking staff and will always push for the strongest punishments against perpetrators."
It marks the latest attack in a string of violent incidents within prison walls amid significant overcrowding issues in Britain's jails.
On Thursday, Feliciano Mendes, 21, had his sentence extended by seven years after he stabbed another inmate.
He attacked his victim with a cell key, leaving him with stab wounds to the head and neck, according to Cambridgeshire Police.
Last month, the head of a prison officers' union called for his members to be given stab-proof vests after an attack on three officers.
Mark Fairhurst, the national chairman of the Prison Officers Association, told LBC's Natasha Devon that members were "subject to... threats, violence and assaults" every day.
His union said that the three officers who were attacked in HMP Frankland were stabbed and had scalding oil poured over them by Hashem Abedi, the Islamist who helped his brother commit a suicide bombing in the Manchester Arena in 2017.
The government and other officials have not confirmed that Abedi, who is serving a prison term of a minimum of 55 years, was the culprit.
Mr Fairhurst said he was "absolutely devastated" by the attack, which he said took place in the 'separation centre' where Abedi and other high-risk prisoners are held.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Justice warned on it "will run out of prison places in just five months time” if nothing is done due to significant overcrowding in jails across the country.
It announced three new jails will be built, while David Gauke, former Conservative justice secretary, has been tasked with carrying out a review of sentencing to solve the overcrowding problem in prisons.
Prisons Minister Lord James Timpson told LBC the crisis is "totally unacceptable" as he vowed that his government will tackle the issue.
He told LBC's Andrew Marr: "The crisis that we've inherited in our prison system is one we need to tackle now. And what that means is if the police can't arrest anybody because there's no prison places, the courts can't potentially convict anybody, and then the whole system breaks down.
"So we always need prison places and that's why we're taking these actions. Our predictions are by November, if we don't do anything, we will run out of spaces in the male prison estate, and that is totally unacceptable."
