7 hours ago
Prisoner yelled ‘who wants it?' before hurling boiling water at guard
A violent prisoner cried 'who wants it?' before throwing a kettle of boiling water at a guard, a court has heard.
Dominic Hedges, 43, whose criminal record dates back almost 30 years, confronted the officer at his cell in Elmley Prison on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.
The prisoner's door was unlocked by mistake on May 18 last year and the guard, Omos Emaniru, had returned to secure it again before finding the career criminal holding his recently boiled kettle in his hands with the lid open.
CCTV and the guard's body-worn cameras showed that Hedges then threw scalding water across Mr Emaniru's head and jacket.
The criminal later pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm and was 'disgusted' by his actions, Maidstone Crown Court was told at his sentencing hearing.
Hedges, who has 24 convictions for 58 offences, was jailed for two years.
The officer had only been working at the prison for a year when he was attacked, the court heard.
The previous day, Hedges was persistently ringing his cell bell and told Mr Emaniru there 'would be consequences' if he was not let out of his cell. The guard told him he would mark his record with a negative entry.
On the day of the assault, prison bosses decided to keep Hedges's door locked because he was banging and making further threats.
But the court was told Mr Emaniru forgot and, on being reminded of his mistake by a colleague, went back to rectify it.
As he reached the cell door Hedges shouted 'who wants it?' and threw the water at him, resulting in scabbing to the head as well as migraines and anxiety.
Prosecutor Nathan Fitzpatrick said the victim returned to work after two days, but was physically shaking while unlocking cell doors and constantly looking over his shoulder.
Mr Emaniru wrote in a statement that was read to the court: 'I was worried this would happen again.
'I am now more vigilant and if I see a kettle it makes me think about what happened to me.'
'Paranoid and hearing voices'
At the time of the attack, Hedges was one month into a 16-month jail term handed to him for three other assaults committed on emergency workers.
His lawyer Simone Newton argued the latest attack was unplanned and had occurred 'in the heat of the moment' after a restless night and substance abuse.
She said: 'He had difficulties with drugs and had spent the night not being able to sleep properly. He was paranoid and hearing voices.
'He accepts he took some Spice and this made things worse for his mental health.
'Mr Hedges said he understands the prison officer doesn't deserve to come to work and be reacted to in that way while just trying to do his job. He is disgusted by his actions that day and says he did see the officer some months down the line and apologised.'
Tougher restrictions on kettles
Recorder Daniel Stevenson, as he jailed Hedges, highlighted the public's demands that inmates not be allowed kettles.
There have already been demands for tougher restrictions on kettles for dangerous offenders after the Southport killer Axel Rudakubana allegedly threw boiling water over an officer at HMP Belmarsh on May 8.
Another prison officer was scalded with boiling water from a kettle, and a different guard was left with a broken jaw after violent attacks at HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire later in May.
Just weeks before, Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, threw hot cooking oil over three officers. He then stabbed them with two knives made out of baking trays in the kitchen of Frankland jail's separation unit.
The Prison Officers' Association has called for terrorists and violent prisoners who assault officers to be kept in US-style 'supermax units' where they are only allowed out of cells once a day while handcuffed and supervised by three officers.
Some 10,605 assaults on staff in male and female jails were recorded in 2024, a record high up from 9,204 in 2023 and nearly three times the 3,640 in 2014.
Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has ordered a rapid review into whether prison officers should be issued with stab vests and trained to use Tasers.
The court heard that Hedges, who has been recalled to prison on several occasions, currently has no 'anticipated' release date.
