AN investigation has been launched after a prisoner slashed his throat as he was driven to jail.

Ian Dale made his suicide bid after being given a five-month sentence for breaching a probation order.

As he was driven in a Group Four security van from Newcastle Crown Court to Durham Prison, he produced a 2in blade and managed to cut his throat before guards disarmed him.

Dale, 67, was taken to Dryburn Hospital, in Durham, where he was kept overnight before being taken to prison.

A source said: "He was being taken away from the court to Durham jail in a Group Four security vehicle.

"Somehow or other, he had managed to get access to a knife, or some kind of blade, and had hidden it and taken it into the van.

"He tried to kill himself by slitting his throat and had to be rushed off to hospital."

Dale, from Newcastle, broke a probation order after being convicted of two counts of indecent exposure.

A Group Four spokesman said: "The incident happened on Monday afternoon, as the security vehicle pulled up at HMP Durham.

"He had concealed a blade of about 2in on his person. It would have been undetectable by the metal wands used to search him, because he had hidden it in an orifice.

"He made two puncture wounds to his throat when the van arrived at the jail. The prison custody officer acted quickly and gave him first aid. They then called an ambulance.