AN HMP Bullingdon inmate caught with a mobile phone hidden between his buttocks has been given a further six months in jail.

Convict Dylan Martin was already serving a three-year jail term at the prison near Bicester when mobile phone detection equipment picked up a signal coming from his cell on August 4 this year.

When prison guards searched his cell the 26-year old quickly owned up to having the working Samsung phone and officers were shown its hiding place and the source of the signal – nestled in his rear.

Despite claiming the phone wasn’t his Martin later pleaded guilty to one count of having without lawful authority a mobile phone in prison.

At his sentencing at Oxford Crown Court on Tuesday prosecutors said that on further analysis officers discovered a SIM card inside the phone which had numerous contacts from Martin’s friends and family.

In mitigation at the hearing, defence barrister Vida Simpeh said that her client had made good progress while in prison, participating in a number of rehabilitation courses, and was gearing up for his release in April 2019.

She added that any further spell in prison which went beyond his release date next year would make him ineligible for courses which are designed to help him re-integrate upon release.

Sentencing, Judge Ian Pringle QC said that the offence was so serious it had to be met with a consecutive prison sentence.

He said: “You knew full well that was not permitted. It is a scourge on our prisons up and down the country the possession of mobile phones, and you deserve punishment for that.

“However, you also deserve credit for the plea of guilty you have entered and I note you have completed various courses and you are preparing for release.

“I am afraid that release will be a little bit delayed.”

Martin was jailed for six months to be served consecutive to his current sentence.