Jail chiefs have handed millions of taxpayers’ cash in compensation to settle injury claims

JAIL chiefs have handed lags millions of taxpayers’ cash in compensation to settle injury claims over the past four years.

Inmates have claimed for getting hurt falling out of bed, slipping over and doing sport.

One sued for PTSD developed due to rats in his cell.

Figures obtained by The Sun show a total of £9.4million has been handed to 958 inmates since 2019.

Of that sum, £5.4million was compensation for assaults by either fellow inmates or prison officers.

And £11.3million was paid to 222 prison staff attacked by convicts — an average of £52,000.

Last year double killer Barry Hillman and 29 other lags launched a legal case claiming that their human rights had been breached because their jail cells at HMP Littlehey were too chilly.

The cons claim they suffered “extreme bodily discomfort” and inhuman or degrading treatment at the Cambridgeshire jail.

They say the cold — at its worst in 2018 — stopped them washing, leading to hygiene issues and illness.

Hillman was jailed in 2002 for battering to death a pizza delivery man and for rape while on leave from prison in 2012.

Lawyers say it could end in payouts of up to £30,000 each — with 25 more claims ready to go if they win.