Police issue update after GMP officer stabbed in the chest at notorious prison

Police have issued an update after a GMP officer was stabbed by an inmate at a notorious prison home to child killer Damien Bendall and Sarah Everard's murderer Wayne Couzens.

The officer was stabbed in the chest shortly after 11am today at HMP Frankland, Durham Police said. Land and air ambulance crews were called to the jail and the officer was rushed to hospital in a critical condition.

In an update this afternoon, Durham Police said the officer, a detective constable from GMP’s Major Incident Team, suffered critical injuries but his condition is now stable. A man in his 60s has been detained following the stabbing.

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Detective Chief Inspector Chris Smiles, who is leading the investigation, said: “First and foremost, our thoughts are with our colleague, who suffered appalling injuries while simply doing his job.

“Thankfully, his condition is no longer critical and we wish him a full and speedy recovery.

“We are liaising with the victim and his family and our investigation is ongoing.”

HMP Frankland is a category A men's prison, the highest level of security. It is thought to be home to some of the most notorious criminals in the UK, including some who are serving whole life terms for their crimes.

One such inmate is Bendall, who murdered his partner Terri Harris, 35, her daughter Lacey Bennett, 11, her son John Paul Bennett, 13, and Lacey's friend Connie Gent, also 11, in Killamarsh, Derbyshire, in 2021. The Sun reported in May that he had attacked another inmate at the prison with a claw hammer.

Couzens, the-then serving police officer who kidnapped, raped and murdered Ms Everard as she walked home from a friend's house in London, moved to HMP