THE North East Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) is investigating an attack on a prison officer at a North maximum security jail.

It is feared the incident at HMP Full Sutton, near York, was sparked by the murder of soldier Drummer Lee Rigby, in Woolwich, last week.

A male warder at the prison was left with a broken cheekbone after being held hostage by three male prisoners, while a female prison officer received minor injuries as she attempted to help her colleague.

The Ministry of Justice said none of the attackers, who are all Muslim, were serving terror-related sentences. Two of the men were aged 25 and one was aged 26.

The prison guards, who were not ex-military as was suggested, received treatment for their injuries and were later discharged.

Michael Spurr, chief executive of the National Offender Management Service, said: “At 4.25pm on Sunday, a prison officer was forcibly taken hostage by three prisoners at HMP Full Sutton.

“A second officer immediately attempted to come to her colleague’s aid and was injured as a result, receiving cuts to her arm.

“The incident concluded at 8.40pm after specially trained prison staff intervened to release the officer.

“This was a serious incident and my first thought is with the officer who was taken hostage - we will do all we can to help him recover from this experience.

“I want to commend all staff involved for their great courage and professionalism.”

A statement from the CTU said: "Inquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident. Given the potential nature of the incident and the range of skills and expertise within the North East CTU, the unit is leading the investigation at this time."

The Prison Officers Association (POA) condemned the incident as a “disgraceful attack” which could have been”so much worse” had it not been for the professionalism of prison officers.

It was initially reported that the attack was masterminded by Islamic extremist Parviz Khan, who is serving a life sentence for plotting to behead a British soldier, but it later emerged he is not an inmate at Full Sutton.

A recent report of Full Sutton by the HM Inspectorate of Prisons found the prison was “good”, although concerns were raised about the treatment of ethnic minority and Muslim prisoners.