A ROBBER who injured a checkout girl's wrist in a "tug of war" for her till is suing his prison for compensation – after hurting his arm slipping on a floor tile in his cell.
Convicted robber Luke Scully, aged 26, from Rotherham, injured the woman's wrist while yanking a till from her hands in front of terrified customers. The drug addict and banned driver then sped away in a stolen car.
Now he is pursuing a compensat
ion claim against HMP Armley in Leeds after scalding his arm when he slipped on a floor tile in his cell while making a hot drink.
In a letter to The Star Scully said he has instructed a solicitor and is expecting a "large" cash payout from the claim.
"I am now in touch with solicitors who are going ahead with a claim for me – I am expecting a large amount!" he wrote.
Scully, of Jenkin Wood Close, Sunnyside, was locked up in March last year after admitting robbing United Discounts in East Dene, Rotherham.
Sheffield Crown Court heard he wrenched the till containing £400 from the checkout woman's arms, resulting in a "tug of war" as she tried to cling on.
In his letter to The Star Scully, who first got hooked on drugs at 14 but says he is now clean, said he was scalded in the early hours of the morning last month while making himself a drink in his cell.
"As I walked to my sink in my cell I slipped on a floor tile. This scalded my right forearm!" he wrote.
"That same morning I was rushed to A&E and I had it cleaned and bandaged up. I told the doctors, and I was told it wasn't my fault, and to show the superiors.
"Luckily, the next day, the chairman of the Independent Monitoring Board was passing through and I showed him my arm. I also took him to my cell.
"He said it was in very poor condition and told me to make a complaint. So I have!"
Scully said he then reported the incident to the prison governor who, he claims, "panicked and ordered the floor be fixed".
The inmate, who says he is locked up for 22 hours a day, added: "Jails are old and tacky, they're not the Butlins like some expect."
A Prison Service spokesman said: "We can confirm a prisoner at HMP Leeds was scalded in his cell. As soon as the prisoner reported his injuries to staff he was treated appropriately. The prison has not been informed of any legal action relating to this matter."
In his letter Scully also denies struggling with the checkout woman or injuring her, and says he was "set up" on a charge of robbery rather than one of non-violent theft.
But the former crack cocaine and heroin addict claims that, since being sent down, he has spent time in six different prisons. He says he was moved from Doncaster, Lindholme, Moorland Open, Lincoln and Stocken jails for bad behaviour – including having packages thrown over the walls, possessing mobile phones, and even having a relationship with a prison officer.
He now says he has "settled down" in Leeds to serve the remaining 10 months of his sentence.
No-one at United Discounts wanted to comment.
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