(Image: Northumbria Police)
A prisoner with paranoid schizophrenia launched a savage attack on a guard who was escorting him to the showers.
Christopher Swann was on remand at Durham Prison in July 2025, two months after being arrested for threatening police with an air weapon during a stand-off at his home in Cramlington, Northumberland.
Prosecutor Martin Towers said the Crown accepted Swann’s mental health was poor at the time.
An officer escorted Swann to the prison showers, on July 3, 2025.
Defendant Christopher Swann, now subject of a hospital order with restrictions, attacked prison officer while on remand at Durham Prison (Image: Northumbria Police)
After his shower, Swann punched the officer, who fell and hit his head on a metal grate.
The impact caused a head wound that needed hospital treatment, and the officer also suffered a broken nose.
A female officer was left alone when her colleague was injured, and Swann ran towards her, but another prisoner on cleaning duty stepped in and restrained him.
Mr Towers said the brief incident left the female officer terrified.
The injured officer feared for his colleague’s safety and apart from his own physical injuries has struggled psychologically to return to work.
But Mr Towers said the officer bears Swann no ill will because he understands his mental health difficulties.
Swann, 26, was charged with unlawfully wounding the officer.
He was later made subject of a restricted hospital order for the armed stand-off and is now in a mental health facility in Morpeth, Northumberland.
Judge Nathan Adams told defence barrister Tom Bennett he would impose a suspended prison sentence for the prison assault, without additional requirements because it would not override the existing hospital order.
Mr Bennett agreed with that course of action.
The judge, therefore, imposed a six-month sentence, suspended for a year.
He said Swann would remain under the restricted hospital order until his treatment was complete.