A prison officer whose ear was sliced off by a terrorist was beaten unconscious by another inmate armed with a kettle soon after returning to work.
The sickening attack took place just five months after the man was hospitalised when Muslim convert Nathan Ruth, 18, slashed the man’s ear off at Feltham Young Offenders, Britain’s most violent prison.
Colleagues of the wounded officer claim the horrifying incident could have been prevented had he been issued with pepper spray.
Use of the incapacitant PAVA spray in young offenders’ institutions was signed off by the justice secretary in April but the devices are yet to be fully rolled out.
Two months before the kettle attack, the same teenage inmate – jailed for possessing a knife – assaulted another officer, stamping on his head and leaving him with a bleed on the brain, a source said.
‘There has been resistance to providing us with PAVA spray from various groups who have no idea what life inside a young offenders institute is like, campaigning for the inmates because they are young,’ the source said.
‘These are teenagers – but they are also rapists, murderers, and some are six foot four. ‘We need the right protection or it is a matter of time before someone is dead.’
The attack is the latest in a string of horrifying assaults on prison staff, including from Southport killer Axel Rudakubana, 18, who in April used a kettle in his cell to boil water which he then launched over an officer at HMP Belmarsh.
This came just weeks after Manchester Arena bomber Hashem Abedi attacked three prison officers at HMP Frankland, stabbing them with homemade weapons and throwing hot cooking oil on them.
The source said that when the officer entered the prisoner’s cell, the young man appeared calm but when he approached the bed he shot up and began bludgeoning him with the kettle.
The prison officer is understood to have been hospitalised with a severe concussion.
‘The bloke has been badly assaulted twice in a year and is getting no support from the service,’ the source said.
‘He hasn’t been back since the assault four weeks ago. His mental health is in bits – and he has since found out that his attacker has kept his television and can order what he wants from the canteen.
‘It’s enough to send anyone over the edge and question why on earth they would do this job.’
Another prison source said: ‘Somebody is going to die soon.
‘Back in April we were told by the secretary of state we were getting Pava in the youth estates – but still nothing.
‘Feltham is the most violent prison in the country – and we have nothing to protect ourselves.
‘Unless something changes soon – somebody is going to die. We are constantly told The MOJ take staff assaults seriously – but it’s just words. It means nothing.’
It is understood that the young offender involved was taken to the separation unit following the attack, and a referral has been made to the police.
Specially trained staff in the youth estate will be issued PAVA spray this summer.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘We take a zero-tolerance approach to violence and will always push for the strongest punishments for anyone found guilty of assaulting another young person or member of staff.’
Teenage terrorist Ruth was jailed for seven years in 2024 after being convicted of plotting an attack at the Isle of Wight Festival.
The inmate behind the kettle attack cannot be named for legal reasons.