A prisoner was left with burns after being showered with boiling water by another inmate.
Violent robber Adam Smith went to the cell of Samuel Birch in HMP Northumberland and poured hot water from a kettle onto his face and upper body. A court heard he was left with blistered skin following the attack in August last year.
Now Smith, who was already serving a 90 month sentence for a violent robbery of a woman in Newcastle city centre, has had his time behind bars extended by 15 months.
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The exact background of the issues between the two men was not explained to Newcastle Crown Court though prosecutor Michael Bunch said: "Both men were inmates at HMP Northumberland and the complainant was made aware the defendant had accused him of bullying. He denies that was the case. He was unaware of any personal issues between him and the defendant and says he had little, if anything, to do with him."
It was around 9.30am on August 6 last year that Birch was lying on his bed with his cell door open. Mr Bunch said: "He heard his name called and was showered with boiling water to the left side of his face, neck and chest area and the kettle was thrown at him.
"He removed his T-shirt to minimise injury and saw the defendant outside his cell, shouting abuse at him. They exchanged blows and the defendant returned to his cell."
A judge commented that there was no supervision or intervention from prison officers visible on CCTV showing what happened before and after the attack in the cell. Recorder Ben Nolan KC said: "There's a noticeable lack of supervision." Mr Bunch replied: "Yes there does not appear to be any officer involved at any stage."
Birch was taken to the burns unit at hospital and found to have burns to his cheek, shoulder and chest and they had begun to blister. They were treated with bandages.
Mr Bunch said: "The complainant described the injury was painful and thought it would take 18 months to fully heal."
Smith, who has 102 previous convictions, including for violence, was serving a sentence imposed in 2021 of 90 months plus four-and-a-half years extended licence for robbery after attacking a woman who asked for directions in Newcastle city centre, punching her in the face, fracturing her jaw and stealing her gold necklace.
In relation to the prison attack, he was originally charged with GBH with intent but prosecutors accepted his guilty plea to GBH. He was jailed for 15 months, consecutively to the existing sentence.
Matthew Simpson, defending, said Smith was not due to be released from the robbery sentence until December 2028 for the robbery. He added: "He did not, unilaterally, out of the blue decide to go to the cell and do what's on the CCTV. There's a context to this."
Mr Simpson added that Smith's life had "descended into drug taking" and was "in a spiral of self-destructive behaviour" after his young son died in 2018.
