THREE prisoner officers were hospitalised in last week’s riot, The Argus can reveal.

Yesterday we reported how brawling prisoners fought with officers in Lewes Prison after an alleged drug deal went wrong.

The Argus can also reveal that 12 inmates were transferred to a different jail after the trouble on October 10.

A guard on duty told The Argus that a drugs parcel got lost in the prison fence, causing inmates to “kick off”.

Now the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) has revealed that 12 inmates who were involved in the brawl have been moved to other jails as a result..

A female dog handler was knocked unconscious by an inmate, according to an officer, who told The Argus on Tuesday that the woman had to carry on working 20 minutes after she was injured.

Three officers were taken to hospital to receive treatment for their injuries, and the POA said other officers had to be treated in the prison.

Another officer said the problems at Lewes Prison were as a result of staffing shortages - something echoed by Mark Fairhurst, acting national chairman of the POA.

He said “This is yet another disturbance.

“Staff are constantly getting injured and this shows how violent the job is and what officers are faced with on a daily basis. It is down to staff shortages and that will not change until the salary for prison officers is upped and suitable for the jobs they are made to do.”

The brawl happened at about 11am last Tuesday - one of two incidents on the same day.

Officers had to use their batons to defend themselves.

An officer said the incident resulted in two of her male colleagues being bitten by prisoners in the brutal fight.

The POA said in a statement: “Up to 30 prisoners were asked to comply to lawful orders which resulted in a concerted act of indiscipline, leaving three staff requiring hospital treatment and 12 prisoners were moved from the prison to other prisons in the area. We believe the incident was drug and contraband related.”

The Ministry of Justice disputed the information and said only one officer injured.

A Prison Service spokeswoman said: “We are determined to ensure that prisons are properly staffed and have invested £100 million to boost the front line by 2,500 prison officers over the next 18 months.

“Prison officer recruitment numbers are at their highest since records began, and HMP Lewes have plans in place to fill a small number of vacancies by the end of this month.

“We are committed to supporting staff who have been in the service for a long time, and are launching a retention strategy.”