A PRISONER has admitted to stabbing a prison officer while behind bars at HMP Long Lartin.
Callum Taylor appeared at Hereford Crown Court on Wednesday (April 29) charged with section 18 wounding with intent.
The 23-year-old appeared in court via video link, where he spoke only to confirm his name and input a guilty plea.
Taylor, who is currently imprisoned at HMP Wakefield, West Yorkshire, had been serving a sentenced at HMP Long Lartin when he stabbed 25-year-old Lewis Towler in the stomach, which left him seriously injured, on May 30 last year.
Emergency services had been called to the prison at around 8.40am that morning following reports of the injury.
Mr Towler required emergency surgery after the knife damaged his liver, but he recovered quickly and was discharged from hospital a few days later.
In response to the stabbing, a GoFundMe was set up to support Mr Towler in his recovery, raising over £6,000.
A protest was also held outside the prison by Laura Reader, a member of the Criminal Justice Workers Union, who told the Worcester News that staff are at serious risk because of weapons being dropped into prisons by drones.
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Speaking last June, she said: “There have been so many serious and life-changing assaults on staff and nothing seems to be done about it, and we now have a 25-year-old lad airlifted to hospital.
“We have drones dropping knives into a high-security jail; that should not be happening in the UK.
“Staff are not allowed to speak, they are terrified to speak.”
The hearing was adjourned and Taylor will next appear in Crown Court on Thursday, July 16, for sentencing.
Section 18 wounding offences can carry a sentence of up to 16 years in prison, with most sentences resulting in 4-7 years.