A PRISONER who was assured he would be given special protection because he was known as an informer was called a "grass" within 20 minutes of arriving at a North-East prison, an inquest was told yesterday.

Paul Day, later found hanged in his cell, endured verbal abuse and had urine thrown at him when he was admitted to Durham's Frankland Prison.

He was also told there was a price on his head.

His mother, Pauline Day, said she felt she was misled by a governor at Wandsworth Prison into believing her son would be placed in a witness protection unit at Frankland.

But Frankland did not have such a unit, and Day was placed in segregation.

An inquest hearing at Chester-le-Street Magistrates' Court was told that Day, 31, of Basildon, had been involved in a number of climbing incidents, suicide attempts and dirty protests. He was serving a seven-and-a-half year sentence for robbery - and a further six months for an assault on a fellow inmate.

An emotional Mrs Day read out a letter her son had written to her after his arrival at Frankland in August, 2002.

He said: "Mum, I was on the bus on the way down and I really thought this was a fresh start for me. Instead, I was walking in the exercise yard and, within 20 minutes, I had prisoners throwing urine on me ... and was being called a grass.

"They screamed at me and told me that I had a £20,000 bounty on my head.

"Once back in my cell, I couldn't stop crying for hours and I was without a radio to drown out the abuse."

He was found hanged in October, 2002.

Douglas Graham, then a governor at Frankland, said he learned Day was already being transported from Wandsworth, without him having been given prior warning.

He said: "I was annoyed, because it is important to have a grip on who is coming into the establishment, especially with a prisoner identified as presenting problems."

Coroner Andrew Tweddle was also told that, during a 17-day period at Highdown Prison, Day had attempted suicide three times.

On one occasion, he had jumped from a 25ft drop with a ligature around his neck.

Warders were able to lift his weight and cut him down.

The case continues.