An ex-prison officer who claimed a wing of the jail where he worked was a drug-riddled no-go area has lost his bid for compensation.

Former Army sergeant Alan McEwan claimed he was told his family would be wiped out if he ever revealed what he knew about drug-dealing inside jail.

The claim was revealed at an employment tribunal in Reading, in which the former prison officer failed in his attempt to sue bosses at Bullingdon Prison, near Bicester, for unfair treatment.

Mr McEwan, 50, claimed prison bosses put him in charge of a prison wing rife with hard drugs and wracked with bitter gang rivalry. However, yesterday the tribunal panel rejected his case against the prison for biased and unfair treatment leading to breach of contract.

Mr McEwan, of Cooper's Green, Bicester, told how the problem started during his training at the Prison Service College in Wakefield, west Yorkshire, after he had served for 26 years with the armed forces.

He told how he had befriended a fellow trainee a Welshman called Gareth who claimed to know drug barons. He decided to tell his Governor, Luke Serjent, of Gareth's connections. A police probe showed the Welshman had serious undeclared drug associations.

Gareth later burst into Mr McEwan's room telling him one phone call could wipe out your family. Mr McEwan was posted to Bullingdon Prison in May, 1999, and claimed he was shunned by a group of younger officers. He also had his 12-month probation period extended by Principal Officer Nigel Atkinson of D Wing, where he worked.

William Hoskins, representing the prison, said Mr McEwan had simply misunderstood the terms of the probation and had not been treated unfairly.

The tribunal panel unanimously rejected Mr McEwan's claim of breach of contract. Mr McEwan, who now works at RAF Benson, said he was extremely disappointed with the outcome.