A prison worker accused of sexually harassing a typist also disgusted another female prison worker with a joke telephone request for sex aids for woman prisoners, a tribunal heard.

Typist Rebecca Byrne has told the hearing in Newcastle that Durham Prison health and safety officer John Wilson threatened to "blow her away" with an AK47 rifle in a twisted campaign to win her affections.

The Sedgefield town councillor claims Wilson also said if he only had four minutes to live he would "take me round the back and **** me".

Another female worker at the prison, Jamila Ahmed, told the tribunal Mr Wilson telephoned her to request a box of vibrators.

Miss Ahmed said: "I received a telephone call from a male worker who said he wanted to order some goods for the female division of the prison.

"He then told me that he wanted to order a large quantity of vibrators.

"I recognised the voice to be that of John Wilson. I said that I found the phone call very offensive and the receiver was then put down."

Giving evidence to the tribunal Miss Ahmed told the court that female workers of the prison's finance office told her that they found Wilson odd, and described him as "a pervert."

She added: "Other female workers told me that when John Wilson went to the finance office and spoke to a female worker, he would not look at their faces but at parts of their bodies."

Mr Wilson, along with HM Prison Service, is at the centre of a sexual discrimination case brought by Miss Byrne.

Giving evidence to the tribunal, Miss Byrne, 27, said Wilson repeatedly threatened her and left her in fear of her life.

She said she became so terrified by Wilson's behaviour she was forced to move from her home in Sedgefield to Newcastle.

She said Mr Wilson, 48, officer bombarded her with unwanted gifts while she worked at the prison from June 2000 to May 2001.

Mr Wilson and HM Prisons deny the offences.