By David LennardA PRISONER who was serving a life sentence for wounding with intent has been found hanged in his prison cell despite being placed on suicide watch.

By David Lennard

A PRISONER who was serving a life sentence for wounding with intent has been found hanged in his prison cell despite being placed on suicide watch.

David Hull, 32, of London Road South, Lowestoft, was serving his sentence at Kingston Prison, Portsmouth.

He was discovered in his single cell at 11pm on Sunday and was taken to hospital after being revived by paramedics, but was pronounced dead yesterday.

An investigation has been launched by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, Stephen Shaw, and it is likely that an inquest will be held to try to establish the facts surrounding the death.

A spokesman for the Prison Service said: “Every death in custody is a tragedy and our thoughts are with the family and friends of David Hull.”

Hull pleaded guilty to wounding with intent at Ipswich Crown Court and was sentenced in April 2001. The charges related to an incident in Lowestoft during 2000.

He had been in trouble with the police on a number of previous occasions. In 1998 Hull appeared at Ipswich Crown Court charged with affray after threatening police officers with two syringes.

Hull had been on bail for a drugs offence and had failed to turn up at court. When police turned up at his home, he barricaded himself into a bedroom.

The officers managed to get into the room, but Hull grabbed a syringe and told the police he was HIV positive and threatened to stab them if they came any closer.

Together with a friend of Hull's, the officers eventually persuaded him to give himself up. Hull was sent to prison for six months for the syringe incident to run consecutively with a two-year sentence for the drugs offence.

david.lennard@eadt.co.uk