Prisoner distressed by loss of hamster took part in jail protest costing £12k
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An inmate who was mourning the loss of his pet hamster took part in a two-hour jail protest that cost £12,000 in damages, a court has heard.
The incident that involved four prisoners happened at HMP Stocken in Rutland on 14 April 2015.
Kyle Blackie who is 23-years-old was one of the inmates who climbed on to netting with a mattress, food and Monopoly.
26-year-old Craig Mercer and 25-year-old Shane Green were jailed for 22 months each at a previous hearing, after admitting affray and criminal damage. A fourth man, 32 year-old Anthony Bailey, received a 20-month jail term.
The court had previously heard that the group had smashed furniture and light fittings.
It also heard that Blackie, from Doncaster, who was serving a five-year sentence for a series of burglaries in Nottinghamshire, Humberside and North Yorkshire, surrendered two hours after the protest began.
He was released in April this year.
Prosecutor Gordon Aspden said Blackie claimed the "distress" at the death of his pet was one reason he gave for taking part in the disorder.
The landscape gardener was spared jail when he appeared before a judge at Leicester Crown Court yesterday (19 October). He has been given an 18-month sentence suspended for two years following guilty pleas to affray and criminal damage.
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