A PAIR of thieving Bullingdon prisoners who stole two gold chains worth £2,000 from a fellow inmate have been jailed.

Yesterday, a sentencing judge questioned 'what on Earth' the victim was carrying the expensive gold accessories around the prison near Bicester for in the first place before he jailed the men.

David Francis, 38 of HMP Bullingdon, and Daniel Storey, 37, of Bosham Road, Portsmouth, were set to stand trial at Oxford Crown Court yesterday facing one count each of robbery.

Instead they both pleaded guilty to one count of theft from another in relation to the same incident, which prosecutors accepted.

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Outlining the case prosecutor Nigel Ogborne said that the incident took place at HMP Bullingdon on September 10 2018.

The victim - Mohammed Kayani - was a medical assistant as well as a prisoner at the facility near Bicester.

At about 3.45pm he was helping move furniture back into Storey's cell after it had been removed following a suicide attempt.

Entering his cell Mr Kayani was then jumped by Francis who 'grabbed hold of him around the neck.'

Moments later Storey made an effort to snatch two gold chains Mr Kayani was wearing and prosecutors said he then 'attempted to swallow then.'

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The court heard that while the high value items were not recovered it was 'probably unlikely' they were swallowed as Storey was put through a metal detecting machine to investigate and nothing was found.

Prosecutors also revealed that while Francis is currently serving an eight-year jail term for grievous bodily harm, Storey was on remand ahead of a sentencing hearing that is yet to take place.

In mitigation, Storey's defence barrister Christopher Wing said that the prison operated a policy whereby personal items had to be declared as being valued at less than £50, despite the snatched items being valued at £2,000.

He added that the theft was 'very short lived.'

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Michael Harrison, defending Francis, said of his client: "It is likely he was experiencing an acute psychotic episode when he committed the offence.

"He has accepted by pleading guilty today his involvement. His role was limited to holding him around the neck."

Sentencing, Judge Nigel Daly said: “What on Earth the complainant was doing wandering around Bullingdon prison with chains of any value around his neck seems a little foolish but there it is.

"You tried to steal them from him and you did so. Quite clearly there was intimidation and the use of force."

Both men were jailed for 12 months each for the single count.

That jail term will run consecutive to the current sentence they are each serving.

They must also pay a statutory victim surcharge.