'I was viciously attacked behind bars - I had to retire at 35'

Daily Mirror

06-05-2025

Former prison officer Claire Lewis was forced to retire at the age of just 35 following a horror attack by a violent inmate, but remains determined to push for change with an urgent new campaign
On Saturday, April 12, Manchester Arena bomb plotter Hashem Abedi viciously attacked three prison officers at HMP Frankland by using two makeshift weapons and by hurling boiling butter or margarine at them.
The Mirror previously reported how Abedi stabbed one guard in the neck and another in the back, numerous times. Two of the colleagues also suffered third-degree burns in what Steve Gillan, the general secretary of the Prison Officers' Association, described as a "cowardly attack".
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It was an assault that has shocked people up and down the country, and for retired prison officer Claire Lewis, the news brought back harrowing memories of her own time working at HMP Frankland. Now she's campaigning to make sure fellow guards are properly equipped with mandatory anti-stab and anti-slash garments.
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Claire, from Washington in Sunderland, was once the "life and soul of the party", but everything changed in 2010 when a prisoner attacked her with a broken bottle. In the 15 years since the horror incident, Claire feels that no "meaningful lessons" have been learned, and has called upon the government to take action before there is any more bloodshed.
Speaking with the Mirror, Claire recalled the day when her "whole world" changed forever in a matter of just 11 seconds. Claire began working for Northumbria Police when she was 16 years old, and joined the prison service in 2003. Outside of work, Claire was also doing well, known to be a "very confident, very forthright" sort of person. Happily married to her husband, Ged, the couple were busily raising their two children. Life, in Claire's words, "was great".
Then the day before Mother's Day 2010, the career mum-of-two Claire had worked so hard to build was ripped away. As a seasoned member of the prison service, Claire was well aware that there was an "element of risk" when it came to dealing with prisoners. However, she was "completely unprepared" for what happened that day.
She and her colleague Craig Wylde went to knock on the door of convicted triple killer Kevan Thakrar, who had previously tried to barricade himself in his own cell. He told them the barricade was no longer there, and so they unlocked the door. As soon as they did so, the inmate "flung" it open, causing Claire to have "a fright and jump back."
Craig attempted to grab the prisoner, who proceeded to stab him in the brachial artery - the major blood vessel that supplies blood to the upper arm. He was severely injured, but thankfully survived. Claire remembered: "Then he turned on me and said, 'I'm gonna effing kill you'. So I turned on my heels and I ran, and he was behind me, and he says, 'I'm gonna f****** kill you'.
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"So he chased me along the landing, it's like a rectangle, so straight up and round, and I slipped on the next bend, and that's where he just lunged at me. He was running full force and stabbed me in the back. I felt it going in; it was like a red-hot poker, and I heard the snapping noise.
"Then he continued chasing me until another colleague basically rugby tackled him to the ground, and then I collapsed. I landed heavily on the landing floor. And then one of my other colleagues, who has sadly passed away, dragged me to safety. That's when I realised I was in a critical condition."
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As a formerly fit and healthy individual with an active job, Claire's physical injuries were "soul-destroying", turning her world "upside down", and forcing her into retirement at the age of just 35. And the emotional toll proved to be even more devastating. Although Claire feels she was supported by the prison "to a degree", she was left "so deeply traumatised", she was unable to deal with any phone calls from her former employer.
Thakrar, who had been jailed in 2007 for three drug-related murders, later admitted to stabbing Craig, Claire and their colleague Neil Walker with a broken bottle but was cleared of attempted murder and three of wounding with intent at Newcastle Crown Court in 2011.
Recalling how she'd been in a "catatonic state" in the aftermath of her ordeal, Claire shared: "I didn't want anything to do with the prison because the injuries, the pain, the suffering, the nightmares, the torment for my family, my husband, my friends.
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"I couldn't deal with it, so we kind of dealt with it ourselves as a family and with the help of a fantastic counsellor that I had who's been with me all the way and is still with me now. It took an awful, awful lot of years to get through this."
In the years since, Claire, now 50, has made significant progress. Despite being a "black and white through and through", Claire had stopped going to watch the football due to the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). At the end of March, however, she took a huge step after her parents treated her and Ged to tickets for the Carabao Cup as a gift for her 50th birthday. Their children also gifted them a 10th-floor room at the Sandman Hotel.
Although there have been these joyful moments, Claire's life has been significantly overshadowed by this incident, which led to her becoming "insular" and unable to do the job she'd once loved. Nowadays, she can no longer bring herself to celebrate Mother's Day, the day having been forever marred by the terrible attack.
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The last few weeks have been especially difficult for Claire, who has had to relive her trauma after learning of the recent horrific assault at her old workplace. She said: "I feel so sorry for those staff members who have been assaulted. It breaks my heart to know that this has happened again, and I know what they're potentially going to go through."
Those who know Claire are naturally "super proud" of her determined campaign work, but she admits it's been tough emotionally. At the time of her attack, Claire remarked that the prison service was "the forgotten service", and she still feels this way today. Claire told us: "15 years on and I feel like nothing's been learned. They should have implemented better PPE equipment for high-security prison staff."
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In her new Change.org petition, which has clocked up more than 29,000 signatures and counting, Claire pointed towards worrying stats from HM Prison and Probation Service, which found there has been 20 per cent increase in attacks on prison officers across England and Wales over the past five years.
Claire believes basic protective gear could mean the difference between life and death for officers, and fears more lives could be torn apart if changes are not implemented. Back when Claire was first assaulted, she did try to push for mandatory stab-proof vests; however, she says this ultimately "transpired to nothing" as she was informed such clothing was "oppressive".
Claire continued: "I just think there should be better personal protection equipment for all prison staff. It doesn't have to be a ballistic vest that looks oppressive; it can be a Kevlar undershirt or anything like that, which is pliable, and it doesn't have to look oppressive to prisoners. So, you know, you have bloody traffic wardens walking around in vests, yet you go into a high security prison and there's nothing?"
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Meanwhile, in a previous interview with the Mirror, Steve Gillan, the general secretary of the Prison Officers' Association, also demanded that action be taken to protect prison officers, warning that it won't be long before a guard is murdered behind bars.
Commenting on the recent assault by Hashem Abedi, Gillan told us: "This was a cowardly attack on brave prison officers. The government needs to wake up before a prison officer is murdered. This incident is clear evidence... we are very close to a murder."
He added: "Security guards in supermarkets are better protected than our prison officers dealing with some of the most dangerous people. These people don't stop being dangerous just because they're in prison."
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You can sign Claire's petition for yourself here.