A NORTH-East prison governor has condemned as a "managerial error" a decision by one jail to send a suspected bully and his victim to the same prison on the same prison bus.

An inquest has heard how 21-year-old Adam Larder complained of being bullied by cell mate Daniel Thompson, while at Doncaster Prison.

Larder, who was serving a sentence for theft of car radios, was moved to another house block away from Thompson, who was serving two years for assault.

But in May 1997, the two were transferred to Holme House Prison, Stockton.

Larder was struck by a remand prisoner while in the reception area of the Teesside prison and was found hanged in his cell there, just over a day later.

Besides the ligature mark around Larder's neck, a pathologist found a number of week-old faded bruises on his torso and limbs.

Michael Donne, a governor at Durham Prison was governor at Holme House when Larder was transferred.

He told Teesside Coroner Michael Sheffield: "In my view it was a managerial error to have put people on the same transport, going to the same place; in my experience, shifting the problem from one area to another."

He said Doncaster Prison had had an opportunity to remove the problem altogether by separating Larder and Thompson.

"In my experience you never put people together on a transport going to the same place, who have been in this situation,'' said Mr Donne.

He said he told a colleague at Holme House he was "unhappy the way Doncaster had transferred two prisoners together, and could he express his concerns at the morning meeting" of senior managers?

Larder declined Mr Donne's offer to send him back to Doncaster while Thompson was kept at Holme House, but was placed on a segregated landing for vulnerable prisoners.

Mr Donne said: "I have a duty to the prisoner because of the circumstances surrounding this particular incident. It was in my judgement the safest thing to do, whereby Adam would not come to any further harm.''

Thompson denied in a written statement that he ever bullied Larder. He stated: "I never even used verbal abuse when he was banged up with me.''

He claimed while sharing a cell at Doncaster the two used to box using towels wrapped round there fists.

Larder referred in a note he wrote before he died to taunts that he was a "grass'' shouted across the prison at him. One prisoner, identified as Barry Carter "told him to hang himself, saying that would be one less grass in the world.''

He hanged himself with a bed sheet in his cell. The inquest continues.