Sharpened mop handles, pool balls, chairs and scalding hot water have been used by inmates to attack staff at Perth Prison, a new study has revealed.
Just weeks after the Tayside jail was named the most violent in Scotland, more details of assaults on workers has been released by the Scottish Prison Service.
These show that there have been 71 attacks against officers and other staff in the last four years.
Figures show that the number of incidents soared from 15 to a four-year high of 26 in 2015/16.
Prison chiefs said they were pleased that efforts had been made to address the rise in trouble, with just five cases reported between April and September this year.
The figures, released following a freedom of information request, show that there have been five incidents where staff have been hit by scalding or boiling water.
There were as many cases where employees were spat at by inmates.
Prisoners have also used bodily waste to attack workers three times in the past four years.
And there have been single incidents recording of inmates assaulting staff with a pen, pool balls, a chair, a soup bowl and a sharpened mop handle.
A prison service spokesman said: “We do not tolerate any acts of violence and procedures exist to reduce such risk to a minimum.
“Where appropriate, the circumstances are reported to the police for action.”
He added: “We will continue to do all that we can to address these problems and to ensure the safety of our staff and inmates.
“It is gratifying to see that these figures appear to be coming down and we hope that this trend continues.”
Earlier this month, The Courier revealed that HMP Perth was the worst in the country for serious assaults.
There have been 13 such attacks or brawls in the last 12 months, compared with just seven the year before.
The country’s biggest jail Barlinnie — where the population of 1,600 is well over double the amount in Perth — only recorded six incidents over the 2015/16 period.
Earlier this summer, police in riot gear were scrambled to the Edinburgh Road compound after two inmates attacked staff and set fire to a pool table.
Other prisoners were evacuated when convicted killer Kristopher Marshall and fellow inmate Ronald Smith staged a stand-off in the jail’s C Hall. The incident cost tax-payers an estimated £40,000.
The pair were later sentenced to a further four years behind bars.
