TWO prison officers have been injured after being attacked by a group of prisoners at a maximum security jail near York.

The incident at HMP Full Sutton on Sunday afternoon lasted for about four hours and an investigation has been launched into the attack, carried out by three prisoners.

A spokeswoman for the Prison Service said trouble flared at the jail - which houses some of the most dangerous criminals in Britain, including terrorists - at about 4.25pm and was dealt with at 8.40pm.

National media have this morning reported that a prison guard was kidnapped and beaten after a request by the prison Imam to pray for drummer Lee Rigby, who was murdered in Woolwich, London, last week. It has been claimed the guard was attacked with broom handles and suffered a broken jaw, and that a female officer was also injured as riot teams were called in and the prison, which has about 600 inmates, went into lockdown.

The Ministry of Justice has not confirmed the circumstances of the incident due to the ongoing police investigation, and has also not released the identities of the prisoners involved.

Its statement said: "An incident involving three prisoners took place at HMP Full Sutton on May 26 from 4.25pm and was successfully resolved at 8.40pm after staff intervened.

The officers are not believed to have suffered life-threatening injuries in the attack. The Prison Officers Association is planning to send a national representative to Full Sutton today to look into the incident, saying it would not comment further until more facts emerged but it had received conflicting reports about how many officers were involved and the extent of their injuries.