A CIVILIAN prison worker who helped a Huddersfield man escape has been jailed for six months.
Prison instructor Francis Cooper, 59, admitted driving a prisoner away from North Sea Camp, near Boston, Lincoln- shire, last September.
Northampton Crown Court heard that Cooper, of Fishtoft, near Boston, took the prisoner to his home in Huddersfield and gave him £10.
In court, Cooper was described as naive and "a vulnerable target".
Maureen Baker, prosecuting, said Cooper had befriended the man when the inmate, jailed for burglary and assault, worked under him as they rebuilt an old railway line.
She said that while he worked at the open prison Cooper was accused of supplying alcohol to prisoners, but an investigation failed to substantiate the claims.
Mark Harries, defending, said Cooper was naive when he entered the prison system and was a vulnerable target for both prisoners and staff.
Mr Justice Gibbs said that although Cooper had faced the threat of intimidation the offence was so serious he must jail him.
Cooper had admitted helping the prisoner to escape at an earlier hearing at Lincoln Crown Court.
