THREE North-East prison officers have been hospitalised after inmates shouting “PTSD” attacked them, sources close to the jail have claimed.

The assaults, which rocked Durham Prison on Tuesday afternoon, came days after claims of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) helped clear a convicted killer of trying to murder prison officers.

Triple killer Kevan Thakrar admitted lashing out at officers in Frankland Prison, near Durham, with a broken bottle but was acquitted of all charges after Newcastle Crown Court heard he was suffering from PTSD caused by alleged earlier beatings by officers at a prison in Milton Keynes.

Craig Wylde, one of the officers seriously injured by Thakrar, said his successful defence had “opened the floodgates” for inmates to attack officers in prisons.

Last night, Jenny Chapman, Darlington’s MP and Labour’s prisons spokeswoman, said: “This was predictable.

Many of us said this would be the outcome.

“Inmates around the country will have got the message that disorder and violence when they’re inside won’t be met with the full force of the law.

“I think the Government needs to intervene to make sure inmates understand this won’t be tolerated. At the minute, they seem to be neglecting their duty to protect the safety of the workforce.”

Steve Gillan, general secretary of the Prison Officers’ Association – which is considering a private prosecution against Thakrar – added: “Prisoners will be aware of the verdict, which is a green light for them to assault prison officers and think they can get away with it by claiming PTSD.

“That’s why we feel so badly let down by the criminal justice system.”

Tuesday’s assaults at Durham Prison, where Thakrar was housed during his trial, came as officers went to open two cells. It is thought up to four inmates were involved.

A prison source said: “A few inmates burst out and attacked them. They were shouting: ‘PTSD, PTSD’.

“They were obviously doing it in reference to Thakrar. The verdict is now common knowledge. It’s given them a free hand to claim PTSD.”

It is believed four male officers, including one senior officer, were hurt – three of whom needed hospital treatment.

One is thought to have suffered a broken nose.

A Prison Service spokesman confirmed that an attack had taken place and that three officers had received hospital treatment.

He said: “Violence in prisons is not tolerated in any form. Assaults on prison staff are taken very seriously and this incident is now subject to an internal and police investigation.”

Thakrar, 24, was serving at least 35 years for the drugrelated murder of three men and attempted murder of two women in Hertfordshire in 2007 when he attacked officers Craig Wylde, Claire Lewis and Neil Walker in Frankland in March last year.