A PRISONER who has spent most of his twenties behind bars at Berwyn has had his sentence extended for attacking a member of staff.

Anuar Niyongabo, of King Alfred Avenue in Lewisham, appeared at Mold Crown Court to receive his sentence after admitting to squirting detergent in the face of an HMP Berwyn staff member.

The court was told by the prosecution, Oliver King, that on October 22 of last year, Niyongabo administered a noxious spray to one of the staff members that manages the prison workshops.

Just before 10am at the Wrexham-based prison on the morning of the attack, Niyongabo asked to leave a session claiming to feel ill. He was told that he could not leave, and Mr Williams told the court how Niyongabo was said to have ‘took offence’ to this.

The 25-year-old then grabbed a nearby container of cleaning fluid and aimed it directly at the workshop manager with his hand on the bottle’s trigger and threatened to spray it in his face if he did not let him leave.

He also made threats to activate one of the prison alarms.

The court heard how Niyongabo - who was a prisoner serving a nine year sentence at the time of the attack - went on to spray the substance at the workshop manager three to four times into his victim’s eyes.

Mr King read out a statement of events in which the workshop manager recalls feeling ‘instant pain’ and ran to an office to wash away the detergent.

He later attended the minor injuries department in Oswestry where he was given eye drops and thankfully suffered no lasting physical effects from the attack.

The prosecution adds that the workshop manager had to take a week away from work, suffering with anxiety and sleep deprivation. He says that he also found himself ‘constantly thinking about the incident’ upon his return to work – adding to the stress and anxiety already felt that something similar could happen again.

It was said that Niyongabo has a ‘bad record of violence’ having already amassed several previous convictions involving weapons.

The defence, James Walker, addressed the judge by saying there was no real means of mitigation.

He said that Niyongabo was ‘realistic’ about what the outcome of the hearing would be and accepts this ‘spontaneous’ offence was ‘born of frustration’ and the end reaction was ‘utter stupidity’ on his part and one that he ‘completely regrets’.

Mr Walker says that thankfully there was no long-term harm done to the victim but acknowledges how this will have impacted on him in a greater sense mentally.

Adding 10 months on top of his current sentence, Judge Niclas Parry said: “Violence against staff in prisons – and of particular concern in North Wales at Berwyn – has reached alarming levels. The courts will do everything they can to address that.

"Attacks such as these effect the morale of prison and causes good staff to leave prisons which has a direct effect on the wellbeing of prisoners."