A man has been jailed for 20 weeks for assaulting a prison officer at The Verne Immigration Removal Centre on Portland.

Koumae Bilaon, 45, also known as Marcelle Toron, was sentenced at Poole Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 16 February 2017 after pleading guilty to assault. He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £115.

The court heard that at around 10.30am on Sunday 5 February 2017 a prison officer was conducting room checks with a colleague when he entered a cell occupied by Bilaon – who was in the centre awaiting deportation to the Ivory Coast.

As the prison officer entered, the cell door closed leaving him alone with Bilaon.

Bilaon become aggressive toward the officer, demanding that he leave the cell which caused the officer to retreat and open the cell door.

As Bilaon continued to be aggressive, the officer pushed the detainee backwards using an open palm to the chest.

Bilaon then punched the officer in his left eye, causing his glasses to fall off. His colleague attempted to restrain Bilaon but he managed to punch the officer again in the same eye, the court heard.

The prison officer received a cut to his left eye which required four stitches. His glasses were also broken during the incident.

Police Inspector Tony Burden, of Dorset Police, said: “Assaults on prison staff will simply not be tolerated and I hope this case acts a reminder that we will thoroughly investigate such incidents.

“Dorset Police works in close partnership with the Prison Service and we are continuing to make efforts to improve our response to prison crime.

“Prison officers often work in challenging and volatile conditions and there is a zero tolerance to any violence shown toward them.”