An inmate with a “terrible record” threw a jug of urine over a prison officer, a court heard.

Michael Hughes, 36, soaked the officer as she passed him near the showers at Wayland Prison, Norwich Crown Court was told.

Richard Potts, prosecuting, said the prison officer knew Hughes, who had been unpleasant to her in the past - but said did not realise he was about to attack her.

He said she had passed the defendant at the entrance to the showers but when she came back had the urine thrown over her.

Mr Potts said the victim, who felt “upset and humiliated”, had to attend hospital as the urine had gone in her eyes.

She also required treatment to prevent possible hepatitis B infection.

A statement read by Mr Potts on behalf of the victim, said the incident came as a shock to the prison officer.

She also described how the incident, which happened on April 16 last year, made me feel humiliated as other inmates at the prison were laughing at her.

Hughes, currently of Humber Prison, appeared for sentence on Friday having previously admitted administering poison with intent.

Edward Renvoize, defending, said Hughes, who has 13 previous convictions for 19 offences, including violence and attacks on prison officers, had a “terrible record”.

But he said he had shown a significant degree of remorse about what he did, entering a guilty plea to the offence in the magistrates court.

Mr Renvoize said as far as the defendant was concerned it was “probably the worst thing he’s ever done”.

He said the defendant recognised that the prison officer had been doing her best and that in an attempt to move prisons he “took a very unpleasant course”.

Sentencing Hughes to a total of 20 months in prison, Judge Stephen Holt said it was a pretty unpleasant offence which happened while the victim was Just doing her job.

Judge Holt said the incident had not only made her job extremely more difficult but resulted in her feeling upset and humiliated.

The judge added that Hughes telling his barrister it was one of the worst things he had done was s”aying something” as he had done some “pretty unpleasant things”.