A PRISONER caught hiding a blade in his glasses case will spend more time behind bars.

A court heard that the seized makeshift weapon had been used to fashion sculptures which would then be sold.

HMP Bullingdon inmate John Gillingham, had already admitted one count of possession of a bladed article inside a prison.

The 46-year-old appeared at Oxford Crown Court yesterday to be sentenced.

Prosecutors said that the banned item was discovered by prison officers on February 26 this year.

Gillingham was moved to a 'sterile area' and searched.

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During that search an improvised razor blade was found inside a glasses case.

Asked why he had it he said it was 'for my protection.'

In mitigation it was revealed that Gillingham had used the makeshift weapon to 'whittle soap to make soap sculptures' which he would go on to sell.

His defence team also said that Gillingham did not produce the blade and that the item had been used for a 'legitimate purpose.'

Sentencing, Judge Nigel Daly said: "The possession of weapons in prison is something that is taken seriously.

"They can cause immense damage to other prisoners but also people working in that prison if they get in the wrong hands."

Gillingham was jailed for 10 months consecutive to his current sentence.