AN inmate at a young offenders’ institution (YOI) has admitted attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to a prison officer.

Arron Lee Jones repeatedly swung a metal bar in the direction of the officer as he was being escorted from a shower area at Deerbolt YOI, near Barnard Castle, on March 19, last year.

The 21-year-old defendant, from Merseyside, admitted assaulting an emergency worker and unlawful wounding at a previous hearing at Durham Crown Court.

But after his lawyer, Michael Hagerty, viewed cctv images capturing most of the incident, he has now admitted attempting to cause the officer grievous bodily harm.

Sentence was adjourned until March 11 to allow a probation report to be prepared to assess the perceived danger posed by Jones, now detained at a YOI in Staffordshire.