A convicted criminal who slashed open a man's throat in a Sunderland attack has died in jail.
Inmate Daniel Sayers was among five prisoners who became seriously ill on Friday afternoon and had to be taken to hospital for treatment.
However, while the other prisoners have since recovered, Sayers' condition continued to worsen until he died on Tuesday.
The 36-year-old's family have been informed and his death has been reported to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.
Sayers was found guilty of grievous bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court in January last year and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
A court heard that he had sliced open a man’s throat in a savage attack in Sunderland, leaving the victim fighting for his life.
Six ambulances and other paramedic crews were called to the prison at Old Elvet in Durham city centre on Friday afternoon.
One inmate told his sister that he had seen somebody being taken past his cell who looked "grey" and that there had been lots of commotion in the prison.
Another told his partner that he was "petrified" after watching inmates receiving urgent medical treatment.
Ambulance crews initially took four people to hospital on Friday afternoon, but a fifth inmate later became unwell and was also taken to hospital.
The other four prisoners have since been returned to custody.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: “HMP Durham prisoner, Daniel Sayers, died in hospital on 16th June and our thoughts are with his family and friends. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has been informed.”
A spokesperson for the North East Ambulance Service said on Friday: "We were called at 5.38pm to reports of persons unwell at Durham prison at Old Elvet.
"We had nine resources on scene, they included six ambulances, an officer, and a specialist paramedic. The Hazardous Area Response Team attended but were stood down.
"We took four patients to hospital."
