Headline-grabbing inmate jailed for attacking HMP Northumberland guard

A convict who made headlines for spending years behind bars on a controversial indeterminate sentence has been jailed again for attacking a prison guard.

Daniel Weatherson, 36, put a Northumberland HMP officer in a headlock with his legs in July 2023 after previously accusing her of corruption and taking too many days off, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

His case attracted media attention because he had spent most of his adult life in prison after being sentenced to at least 18 months for robbery in 2007, the court heard.

Weatherson, who was recalled to prison on license days after his release in September 2023, admitted assaulting an emergency worker and was sentenced to six months in prison.

Weatherson, who had no fixed address but was previously from Newcastle, complained to other inmates about the number of holidays taken by the guard at the prison near Acklington, Northumberland, insinuating that she was corrupt and thereby undermining theirs Authority, said prosecutor Annelise Haugstad.

The court heard Weatherson intentionally cut his leg on July 22, 2023, when staffing levels were reduced during the lunch break and there were delays in getting medication for prisoners.

The security guard was one of those who responded and suggested he had harmed himself because he knew there were fewer officers on the wing at the time, the court heard.

Later that day, he self-harmed again, which the guard suggested to “prove a point” in response to the suggestion that he had only done it “on her time and not his time.”

When he returned to his cell, the guard informed Weatherson that he would lose some privileges due to his behavior, which led him to complain to two other officers.

When he refused their orders to return to his cell, they threw him to the ground and during the scuffle he used his legs to put the guard in a headlock, spraining her neck, the court heard.

In a statement read out in court, the guard said she was off work for six months as a result and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

She also said it was disturbing to see media reports about Weatherson that appeared to celebrate him as a “celebrity” and an “upstanding character.”

His case attracted attention because of the length of time he spent in prison, as he was initially only jailed for a minimum of 18 months and his indeterminate sentence was intended to “protect the public”, the court heard.

In mitigation, Cainan Lonsdale said the defendant was still suffering from the effects of childhood trauma, having been the victim of a kidnapping attempt when he was four and stabbed to death when he was ten.

Mr Lonsdale said his self-harm episodes were serious and not based on a prison plan, adding that he was in a real “mental health crisis” which guards did not take seriously.

He said Weatherson had spent most of his adult life in prison and was only out for a few days in September last year before he was recalled on license to HMP Frankland in Durham and his next possible parole hearing could take place in September 2025 .

The court heard he had been diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s disease and feared receiving a cancer diagnosis after he was diagnosed with an enlarged prostate.

He was also diagnosed with PTSD, various personality disorders, depression and anxiety, Mr Lonsdale said.

Assistant Judge Advocate Thomas Mitchell said the attack was “somewhat cowardly” as Weatherson was much taller than the female guard.

He said the defendant, whose first conviction was for assault in 1999, had a “propensity for violence and manipulation”.