A PRISON officer at HMP Berwyn feared he had contracted a contagious disease after he was drenched in urine thrown by an inmate, a court heard.

Career criminal Raymond Brown surprised the officer after he had intervened to quell another prisoner who was causing a disturbance in the Wrexham jail.

Barrister Oliver King, prosecuting, told Mold Crown Court that the practice of “potting” where faeces and urine are put in containers and thrown was a deliberate attempt to degrade serving prison officers.

Brown, 29, had been moved to the North Wales prison complex from the North East after he was convicted of assaulting another prison officer.

He was due to be released in May next year, but Judge Rhys Rowlands added 14 months to his sentence and told Brown: “This was a disgusting assault on a public servant.

“It was a humiliating experience for the officer who was concerned that he had contracted a disease.”

Brown’s victim was asked to support other officers working on one of Berwyn’s “communities” where a prisoner had been due to be let out of his cell for a short period.

But when the inmate charged at his cell door he was told he would have to stay incarcerated because of his behaviour.

After he started ringing his cell bell in anger, Brown was captured on CCTV approaching the prison officer and throwing the contents of a mug.

“The urine went into his eyes and over his uniform.

"The officer felt degraded by the experience and when it got around the prison later he was subjected to taunts,” said Mr King.

“He was worried he would catch something from the urine.”

The officer was so concerned that he went for a check-up at Shrewsbury Hospital.

Brown declined to comment about the attack when he was arrested.

The court was told that among his list of 24 previous convictions were ones for robbery and burglary as well as an attack on a prison officer at HMP Humber when he had punched his victim, causing him to suffer a black eye.

Brown, 29, pleaded guilty to administering a noxious substance with intent to aggrieve or annoy on August 4 last year.

Defence barrister Henry Hills said Brown was in a bad mental state at the time he committed the attack, but he was now receiving help from a psychiatrist and a drugs and alcohol worker after being moved from Berwyn to HMP Leicester.

“He suffers from psychosis, ADHD and a personality disorder.

"He had an addiction to spice, but he is trying to correct his behaviour and it would appear with some success.

“He is genuinely sorry and apologises for what he did.”

Judge Rowlands said Brown, who appeared via a video link from HMP Leicester, would have to serve the 14 months custody consecutively to his current sentence.