Burglar handed £5.5m payout after he was left with ‘kitchen phobia’ following knife attack in prison canteen

A BURGLAR has been awarded a £5.5 cardinal payout aft claiming helium was near with a phobia of kitchens pursuing a weapon onslaught successful a situation canteen.

Steven Wilson - who has a 20-year transgression grounds - suffered a torn liver, fractured spine and lacerated spinal cord during the incidental successful July 2018.

Convicted murderer Patrick Chandler attacked him “out of the blue” with a nine-inch weapon whilst they some worked successful the room astatine HMP Chelmsford.

Wilson, 36, of Clacton-on -Sea, Essex, was connected remand for an aggravated burglary - of which helium was aboriginal convicted - erstwhile helium was attacked.

He was aboriginal sentenced to six-and-a-half years' imprisonment.

His erstwhile offences impact transgression damage, theft, driving, breach of assemblage orders and violence.

He successfully sued the Ministry of Justice, claiming the Government section had failed to adequately measure whether lifer Chandler was harmless to enactment successful specified an environment.

'YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND'

“When I spot knives I consciousness cold,” Wilson said from the witnesser container astatine the High Court this morning.

“You don’t recognize the chill I get erstwhile I spot a knife.

“I can’t beryllium successful a room oregon astir knives due to the fact that it reminds maine of the attack.”

He was stabbed to the tummy with specified unit that it lifted him disconnected the ground.

The MoJ admitted liability and agreed that Wilson is owed compensation but contested the amount.

Government lawyers argued that owed to Wilson's agelong record, with "next to nary history" of having earned an honorable penny, helium should not get the £5m-plus damages helium was claiming.

However, Judge Melissa Clarke disagreed, awarding him the multi-million lb payout and ordered the Government to wage his £546,000 lawyers' measure connected top.

At the time, Chandler was lone 24 days into a beingness sentence, imposed for the brutal weapon execution of John Comer, 45, successful Lawford, Essex, successful December 2017.

The formerly "fit and fearless" Wilson recalled Chandler “looking astatine him strangely” earlier helium lashed out, arsenic if helium was “looking consecutive done him”.

Chandler aboriginal admitted attempting to execution Wilson and received an further beingness condemnation and 10-year minimum word successful November 2018.

Chandler's wide hazard standing had been assessed by the MoJ arsenic “medium”, tribunal documents disclosed.

This was contempt 2 weeks earlier the onslaught having allegedly told his supervisor that “he had fantasised astir unit and what helium was going to bash to radical and astir making weapons”.

Wilson's barrister, Giles Mooney KC, told the justice that, erstwhile disconnected the operating table, helium was treated successful infirmary for implicit 2 months and had to usage a wheelchair.

He present needs a instrumentality to get around, is plagued by chronic symptom and cannot enactment owed to the bequest of his attack.

Giving evidence, Wilson told the judge: “I went successful determination a perfectly acceptable young antheral and came retired successful a wheelchair.”

His ordeal has triggered flashbacks, PTSD and nightmares, helium said, telling the court: “When I came retired I kept seeing this man.

“I knew that helium was down bars, but I kept seeing him, I had dreams that helium was chasing maine and I’d aftermath up successful a pool of sweat.”

During the proceedings of the case, MoJ barrister Richard Wheeler KC told the judge: "While the suspect accepts the claimant indispensable beryllium compensated for his injuries, that compensation indispensable beryllium fair, tenable and just."

He added that Wilson had a lengthy transgression record.

Although helium had astatine 1 constituent claimed to person earned £800-a-week anterior to going to jail, helium had enactment guardant "no evidence" of however helium did this, the barrister said.

The MoJ argued that Wilson has made improvements successful his information since the onslaught and truthful does not request the level of attraction going guardant that helium claimed.

Mr Mooney, however, insisted that the MoJ had "seriously undervalued" the assertion and that helium deserves the payout helium claimed.

“It is wholly accepted that Mr Wilson had a somewhat troubled and transgression past anterior to the onslaught connected him,” helium told the judge.

“However, the onslaught has near him with precise superior injuries. He has extended care, therapeutic and accommodation needs.”

Handing down judgement this morning, Judge Clarke said that immoderate of the experts enactment guardant by the Government Legal Department had during the proceedings "departed from an archetypal just and autarkic attack to Mr Wilson's case".

One adept was criticised for "cherry picking" excerpts from video surveillance evidence, whilst different had "lost show of the information that his archetypal work was to the tribunal and was actively seeking to transportation the tribunal to marque a little award," the justice said.

"I person asked that determination should beryllium immoderate introspection by the Government Legal Department connected this and whether experts were asked to determination distant to much partisan and unfair analysis," she said.

"I recognize determination has present been immoderate specified introspection by the Government Legal Department and I shall accidental nary much astir it."

She went connected to grant a compensation payout of conscionable nether £5.5m, with Wilson's ineligible measure of £546,030.99 connected top.

The justice ordered the Government to wage £400,000 up beforehand successful respect to the ineligible costs bill.