An inmate being held on remand in prison tried to set fire to his cell as a "cry for help", a court has heard. Nicky Griffiths used a vape to start the blaze in the cell at HMP Swansea which he was sharing with another prisoner. Thanks to the swift actions of staff the fire was extinguished before anyone was hurt.
Dean Pulling, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that just before 7.15am on August 28 last year a fire alarm activated in a cell on F Wing of Swansea prison. Staff rushed to the cell and looked through the observation hatch in the door, and though the lights were off the officers could see Hughes and his cellmate - and the glow of a fire.
The men were told to get as low as possible to avoid the smoke while the prison officers got fire hoods ready and sprayed water over the flames through a valve on the door. When staff were satisfied the fire was out the inmates were taken to safety. Griffiths told staff his "head had gone" but he wasn't formally interviewed until May 22, some nine months after the fire. In his interview he said he had used a vape and an electrical socket to set fire to paper, and he put the incident down to his mental health saying he had wanted to be moved to the segregation unit.
