A WOLLATON man jailed for chopping off another man's finger has been given another two-and-a-half years after attacking a prison guard.
Steven Unwin punched the guard in the face several times in the attack at Ranby Prison, near Retford.
It led to a disturbance as other prisoners began to throw snooker balls at the guards and others started cheering.
Nottingham Crown Court heard Unwin had just had a row with his wife on the telephone.
After putting the phone down, he approached two guards and asked what the time was.
Robby Singh, prosecuting, said: "He (the guard) looked down at his watch and when he looked back up he was punched by the defendant."
The guard ended up on the floor and Unwin stood over him to continue the attack. Eventually other guards pulled him away.
Mr Singh added: "It enlivened all of the other prisoners on the wing."
The guard, who had blood on his face, was taken to hospital after the attack on March 15. He had a broken tooth as well as bruises and a bloodshot eye.
Unwin, 31, previously of Whitemoss Close, Wollaton, was moved to the more secure Garth Prison in Lancashire after the incident.
He had been serving eight years and three months for chopping off the finger of his girlfriend's former boyfriend in The Meadows in 2009.
He put the middle finger of the man's left hand on a breakfast bar and cut it off with a 10-inch knife. He pleaded guilty to assault the guard causing actual bodily harm.
In mitigation, Dean Bower said it was a "spur of the moment assault" and not premeditated.
He said Unwin had been arguing with his wife as prison officials had restricted their contact.
"On this day they had a row over the telephone," said Mr Bower.
"He came away from the telephone and went over to the two prison guards with no intention of assaulting them at that point.
"He took his frustrations out on that particular prison guard."
Judge Michael Stokes, QC, added two-and-a-half years to Unwin's original sentence.
He said: "Though the prison officer was not seriously injured, the court has got to do what it can to ensure that those who are in highly vulnerable positions in prison are protected."
Speaking about the disturbance which followed the attack, Judge Stokes added: "If anything like this occurs in a prison environment, it's virtually inevitable that others will react as they did."
