An inmate at HMP Berwyn held a pool ball in his fist and punched a prison officer in the face during a disturbance at the prison in Wrexham.

Norman Corbett aimed the punch at another prisoner who was being restrained at the time, but victim, prisoner officer James Shirley, was punched to the face and ended up with a bruised eye and cheek and a bloodied nose.

Corbett, 23, had earlier jumped up onto a pool table during the disturbance in May of last year and was seen to hurl pool balls at other prisoners.

At Mold Crown Court he admitted assault, occasioning actual bodily harm, and was jailed for six months to be served consecutively to his current sentence.

The court was told Corbett had a number of previous convictions for robbery and was currently serving an extended seven-and-a-half year sentence imposed in Wolverhampton.

His case was due to be reviewed by the Parole Board in March and the earliest date he would be eligible for parole was 2021.

Judge Huw Rees watched CCTV of the incident and said Corbett had increased the seriousness of the disturbance by inmates.

He had got involved “with athletic enthusiasm” at first.

The officer had been assaulted while doing his duty and was punched to the side of his right eye while the defendant held a pool ball.

“Luckily the injury was not as serious as it could have been,” Judge Rees said.

Such behaviour affected the good order and discipline in prison and had an unsettling effect on staff and other inmates. He had to understand if he continued to behave like that then sentences would only get longer, the judge warned.

Prosecuting barrister Jo Maxwell said a large scale brawl broke out in one of the corridors on May 19.

Officer Shirley became aware of a number of prisoners congregating outside a particular cell. He went to check what was going on, found a man on the floor and went to check on his welfare.

The officer became aware that other prisoners had become involved in a melee near a pool table and he and others made their way there.

Another prisoner had a tin in a sock and the officer intervened to restrain him.

Corbett was seen to get involved after the fight had broken out.

He jumped onto the pool table, selected several balls and threw them towards other prisoners.

But he then, with a pool ball in his right hand, punched out towards the prisoner being restrained. However, the first punch hit the officer in the face around his eye socket.

Other punches connected with the prisoner.

The court heard how the prison had a zero tolerance towards violence.

There was an emphasis on rehabilitation which was undermined by such incidents.

Defending barrister Duncan Bould said it was conceded the incident was disgraceful but he was entitled to credit for admitting his wrong doing. Although his record was appalling he always admitted what he had done. It was not his intention to hit the officer.

There was a melee, one prisoner had a sock with a tin inside and another could be seen using a pool cue. Corbett was the only one who had been prosecuted - the others had been dealt with internally.

“He retaliated against a man who the officer had subdued. He did not go out of his way to deliberately assault an officer,” said Mr Bould.

He had since been moved to another prison, his behaviour was being challenged and there were signs he was changing his approach for the future.