A PRISONER who attempted to escape from the dock has had his jail sentence extended.

Scott Gore scaled a 10ft high dock at Bolton crown Court in November last year after a judge told him he would be jailed for 10 months.

He has now been jailed for a further 18 weeks after appearing via video link from Forrest Bank Prison after pleading guilty to attempting to escape from custody and assaulting a prison custody officer.

Duncan Wilcock, prosecuting, told the Honorary Recorder of Bolton, Judge Timothy Clayson, how, on November 20 last year, Gore had appeared in Court 1 before Recorder Simon Killeen.

Gore was sentenced to 10 months in jail for various offences including taking a motorbike and scooter without consent and breaching a suspended prison sentence for illegally possessing an air rifle.

"It seems that once the sentence was imposed, the defendant became irate and attempted to leave the court building," said Mr Wilcock.

Gore tried to grab keys to the secure dock from prison custody officer Michelle Camm's belt and when he was unsuccessful, managed to scale the 10ft high security glass wall of the dock, squeezing through a small gap at the top and dropping down the other side into the body of the courtroom.

Mr Wilcock told how Ms Camm had attempted to hold onto Gore's legs to try and stop him climbing out of the dock.

"She could not believe what he was doing. In her 12 years here she has never seen anything like it before," said Mr Wilcock.

Gore sprinted out of the room and managed to reach the court's stairwell before he was tackled and stopped by the court's resident police officer, PC Paul Bentley and security staff.

Kimberley Morton, defending, said Gore had been on bail and was hoping to get his sentence adjourned to another date as his daughter was in hospital, but became upset when he request was not accepted.

"He behaved as he did because he was concerned for her welfare," said Mrs Morton, who stressed that although he has previous criminal convictions, Gore is not violent.

"He certainly hasn't behaved in this manner before," she said.

Mrs Morton added that Gore regrets his behaviour, is apologetic and, as a result of the conviction, will have to wear handcuffs in the dock at any future court appearances.

Judge Clayson accepted that Gore had not been attempting to harm Ms Camm when he assaulted her.

"But it would have been a very frightening experience for her as you were clearly intent on getting out of the dock if you could," the judge told him.

Gore, aged 26, of Willows Lane, Deane, will serve his new sentence at the end of the prison term already imposed by Recorder Killeen.