A prison guard has survived having his throat cut with a razor in an attack by an inmate at troubled Nottingham Prison.
National Chair of the Professional Trades Union for Prison, Correctional and Secure Psychiatric Workers (POA) Mark Fairhurst, tweeted that the guard needed 17 stitches to his neck after the attack.
"My thoughts are with our colleague. This morning a colleague was attacked with a razor. Prisoner arrested. Colleague has 17 stitches in neck. Now recovering at home."
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The Governor of HMP Nottingham Phil Novis said it had been an "emotive" day.
He tweeted: "Difficult day, colleague badly assaulted. Not sure it could be legislated but will review.
"Thoughts with him, family and the team dealing with the fall out. Rightly emotive for everyone incl me but all that matters is our colleague and friend at this time."
HMP Nottingham is a category B male prison which expanded in 2010 to hold 1,060 prisoners.
The prison was declared "fundamentally unsafe" by prisons watchdog last January.
An inmate was charged with murder over the death of fellow prisoner Brett Lowe, 43, last July.
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The Chief Inspector of Prisons issued an unprecedented urgent notice over HMP Nottingham, giving Justice Secretary David Gauke 28 days to respiond.
Inspectors visiting the prison last January found serious safety failures, and an increase in self-harm incidents after years of "poor" inspection gradings at the facility.
The moves under urgency led to Mr Gauke publishing an action plan .
The MoJ in late 2018 said it had made improvements to the prison, including recruiting more guards to improve safety and tackle drug-use, the BBC reported.
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The inspection report published last year found levels of violence at the prison were "very high", with 103 assaults on staff in the previous six months.
Over the same period, there had been 198 incidents where prisoners had climbed onto safety netting between landings.
"This level of disorder contributed to a tense atmosphere at the prison," the HM Inspectorate of Prisons said, adding that many violent incidents, including serious ones, were not investigated at all.
The prison needed to do "much more" to tackle the problem of drugs which was "inextricably linked" to violence, chief inspector of prisons Peter Clarke said in his report.
A prison officer had part of his ear bitten off by an inmate on the detox wing at the jail in the summer of 2014.
In the same week a prisoner had gouged his own eyes out in protest at the sweltering conditions in the jail.
At the time, the POA's general secretary Steve Gillan described HMP Nottingham as grossly understaffed, and a "powder keg prison."
The Ministry of Justice is expected to release further information about the latest incident shortly.
