Prison staff fling inmate jailed again

A man who had inappropriate relationships with two prison staff members and escaped in handcuffs from hospital has been sent back to jail.

Harri Pullen, 27, was arrested in Newport with crack cocaine on 2 April, but after being taken to hospital for head pain, he fled in a getaway car and was found a week later hiding in a rural farmhouse.

While serving a previous four-year sentence at HMP Parc in Bridgend, he had inappropriate romances with a jail nurse and a prison officer - one of whom was convicted, while the other sacked.

Pullen pleaded guilty to 11 offences, including drug possession, escaping custody, and dangerous driving, and has been sentenced to six more years in prison.

Former prison nurse Elyse Hobbs, 27, from Newbridge, Caerphilly county, was jailed for having an inappropriate relationship with Pullen while he was behind bars.

Ruth Shmylo, 26, lost her job as a prison officer over an alleged relationship with Pullen, who contacted her through secret calls from his cell.

Although she admitted emotional distress and failing to report the contact, she was found not guilty of misconduct in public office.

Newport Crown Court heard that Pullen was arrested on 2 April after plain-clothed officers spotted two men acting suspiciously on an e-bike in Newport city centre on 26 March.

Prosecutor Alex Granville said Pullen was found with five wraps of crack cocaine, a burner phone, an iPhone and £90 in a black bum bag.

After being taken into custody, he complained of head pain and was taken to the Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran, Torfaen, where he escaped in handcuffs by running through the hospital grounds and jumping into a waiting getaway car.

He was found hiding in a farmhouse outside Newport and attempted to flee once more, this time in a Mercedes, but officers followed him to a cul-de-sac and he surrendered after a police dog joined the chase.

Julia Cox, defending, said Pullen was "immature" and suffered from "hypochondria" believing he has had a brain tumour for about four years.

She added: "This was not anything that was pre-planned. It was more opportunistic than that."

Ms Cox said, when members of his family tried to visit him in hospital but were told they could not stay, Pullen "lost his head".

Pullen pleaded guilty to 11 charges including possession with intent to supply crack cocaine, dangerous driving and escaping lawful custody.

Judge Daniel Williams sentenced Pullen to six years, after which he said: "Thank you and I apologise."