Problem prisoner persistently spat in officers faces, court told

Ryan McInally, who lived in Castleford, twice spat in officers' faces in HMP Doncaster, and when he was brought before a hearing about his behaviour, then spat in the face of the assistant director of the prison.

The 20-year-old admitted three charges of assault relating to last summer, and three charges of racially aggravated harassment during a hearing at Leeds Crown Court.

McInally had made persistently monkey noises towards one officer, and told him to get out of this country, prosecutor Frances Pencheon said.

Handing him a 15-month jail sentence, Judge Geoffrey Marson QC told him: "It will simply not be tolerated. You were using disgraceful and disgusting language.

"Only immediate custody can be justified."

The court heard that McInally had been on remand at the time for a charge of arson. He was eventually given a suspended sentence in November for setting fire to his neighbour's address on Wood Street in Castleford.

But while he waited for his case, he was placed at HMP Doncaster where he became troublesome and on two occasions had to be escorted back to his cell by prison officers. It was then that spat in their faces.

He was then due before an adjudication hearing with Doncaster's assistant director, who went to visit him in the segregation unit beforehand.

McInally was found to have put a bag over his head and tied a ligature around his neck, so security was called.

As the prisoner struggled on the floor with the officers, he turned and spat at the director.

Now at HMP Nottingham, he appeared in court via video link. He has five convictions for nine offences.

Mitigating, Timothy Jacobs said that McInally struggled with ADHD and was on the autism spectrum, but said that his behaviour was showing signs of improving.

He said: "He has not committed any further offences in custody, and not caused any trouble.

"He now knows much better how to behave in a custodial setting and regrets his behaviour.

"He is a young man with a difficult background, but his conduct is very different now."