Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Dundee drug dealer held prison officer in ‘bear hug’ during HMP Perth flare-up

Neil Phinn assaulted the officer at HMP Perth.
Neil Phinn assaulted the officer at HMP Perth.

A jailed drug dealer grabbed a prison officer in a “bear hug” during a disturbance at HMP Perth.

Neil Phinn, from Dundee, assaulted the guard when he tried to seize a tiny package of tobacco.

His brother John, who was also locked up at the time, had attempted to distract the officer and tried to hide his sibling behind a rug.

Phinn, 40, appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted assaulting jail worker Timothy Cochrane on November 15 2019.

Prosecutors accepted not guilty pleas from his brother John.

Scrap over paper

Fiscal depute Sarah Wilkinson said: “Mr Cochrane was supervising the accused in the prison’s C-Hall at around 4pm.

“At this time, the accused was out of his cell to use a phone.”

She said: “On finishing his phone call, Mr Cochrane instructed both men to return to their cells.

“John Phinn then attempted to distract the complainer by holding up a rug, obstructing his view of what the accused was doing.

“He could see the accused had a piece of paper.”

When challenged by Mr Cochrane, Phinn pulled the scrap paper out of his pocket and threw it to the floor.

Ms Wilkinson said: “When the complainer tried to recover the item, the accused grabbed him by each arm to prevent him from doing so.

“He pulled him by his arms with force and restrained him in a bear hug.”

The court heard other officers ran to assist.

Phinn was escorted back to his cell.

Good behaviour report

A recent study revealed there have been 119 attacks on officers at Perth Prison since 2019.

Solicitor Jim Caird, defending, said: “Mr Phinn does feel remorseful.

“But I would suggest this was a relatively minor matter – there’s no suggestion of any form of injury.”

Mr Caird said the paper contained a small amount of tobacco.

The court heard Phinn spent 14 days in segregation for the assault.

He also had his prison wages docked.

Sheriff Kirsty Hood QC deferred sentence for four months for Phinn to prove he can stay out of trouble.

“It is a serious matter to behave this way within a prison setting,” she said.

Earlier convictions

Phinn was jailed for almost three-and-a-half years in 2019.

Dundee Sheriff Court heard he was caught by police after pranging a friend’s car in Broughty Ferry and running off, leaving behind a bag of heroin worth nearly £3,000.

Investigators traced him after analysing DNA found on the airbag of the car.

Phinn, of Linfield Street, Dundee, was previously jailed for being concerned in the supply of drugs.

Broken mops, sharpened toilet brushes and dominoes in a sock – Report reveals rise in make-shift weapons at Perth Prison

.