A MAN who was unlawfully struck in the face by an officer whilst serving a prison sentence spoke of his anger at the idea the establishment "tried to cover it up."

Joshua Francis, of Athena Grove in Chester, appeared at Wrexham Magistrates Court on Wednesday and Thursday for trial.

The 32-year-old had denied one offence of assault by beating, which was alleged to have happened at HMP Berwyn, during his duty as a custodial manager.

Following the two-day trial, District Judge Gwyn Jones found Francis guilty - having seen body worn footage of the incident.

In it, Francis could be seen delivering two strikes to the face of prisoner Jake Burns whilst the victim was handcuffed behind his back.

Francis claimed he'd been acting in self defence after being assaulted himself, but the court found his actions had been unlawful.

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In his impact statement, which was read to the court prior to Francis' sentencing, Mr Burns said: "I accept I've not always behaved as I should. I've been in prison for a number of years of my life.

"But I don't accept this gave CM (custodial manager) Francis the right to treat me as he did.

"He is meant to be the one who looked after us, but when I could not defend myself, he took the opportunity to assault me.

"This behaviour was out of order."

During the trial, the court heard Mr Burns was left with two black eyes and a bleeding nose.

Describing the incident to the court on the witness stand during the trial, he said: "It was so quick.

"I was defenceless. My nose popped - there was blood coming out of it."

In the victim statement, Mr Burns said despite being "used to prison life," he had "never seen or experienced this level of violence from an officer."

He continued: "My wife was devastated, upset and worried that a prison officer who was here to keep me safe was the one to attack me.

"I am angry that the prison tried to cover it up - they were just looking after their own.

The Leader:

"Prison can be a dangerous place, and they way they dealt with what happened to me just highlights that you can't even trust the officers.

"They will behave as they like.

"I don't believe CM Francis should be allowed to continue working as a prison officer after what he did to me."

Francis received a £2,000 fine for the crime, and must pay £775 in costs, as well as a £500 contribution towards compensation.

His defending solicitor, Catherine Higham, told the court whilst Francis remains an employee of the Prison Service, he has been suspended on basic pay.

She added: "It is unclear at this stage what will happen to that employment - the prison will have its own internal measures, so it is up in the air.

"This comes after eight years of service (in the Prison Service), and five years in the Armed Forces."