A YOUNG inmate carried out a revenge attack using a still unrecovered sharpened implement in a young offenders' institution (YOI).

Dean Weston followed his victim into the refectory at Deerbolt YOI at Startforth, near Barnard Castle, and, on reaching the servery, slashed him from behind, across the side of the face.

Durham Crown Court heard the ‘weapon’ was inside a cloth and, as Weston walked away, he dropped it - flicking it backwards with his foot towards another inmate, who picked it up.

Shaun Dodds, prosecuting, said it was never recovered, but a pathologist, who examined the gaping wound it caused, believed it to be a piece of glass or bladed object.

The victim, who fled the refectory after the attack, was reluctant to help the investigation, as he felt vulnerable while still incarcerated.

But the injury, a cut almost 8cm long and between 1 and 2cm deep, was photographed and treated.

The court was told it is expected to leave a permanent scar down the side of his face.

When detained, the defendant tried to pass it off as a ‘scratch’ with his nail, and it was only after cctv footage was examined that the full seriousness of the incident became apparent.

Weston, 20 at the time, in March, was only a few months into a four-year sentence for an attempted robbery at a Co-op in which he brandished a metal bar.

The court heard his previous offences include carrying knives and other weapons.

Chris Baker, mitigating, said: “This wasn’t a sustained assault, it was one blow, but with use of a weapon.

“There was something of a background, but I have to say, it doesn’t justify this.

“While he does have previous offences for knife carrying, none have resulted in serious injury.

“He’s now 21 and although he has had a troubled background, he is an intelligent young man.

“He does express remorse and it appears genuine.”

Weston, originally from Workington, Cumbria, and now detained at Holme House Prison, Stockton, admitted wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Judge Robert Adams told him: “There seemed to have been ongoing animosity between you.

“Reading the pre-sentence report, it appears the inmate you attacked was responsible for a previous injury to your shoulder.

“This seems to have been a case of you getting him, before he got you.”

He jailed Weston for six years, to run concurrently with the four-year sentence he is already serving.