A PRISON cook will receive more than £100,000 in compensation after an inmate dropped a 25kg (55lb) sack of rice on her back.

Susan Cox, 46, has suffered severe spinal pain since the 2007 accident, which left her unable to work.

The mother of one sued the Ministry of Justice for failing to keep her safe while working as a catering manager at Swansea Prison. Bosses at the jail claimed the accident was not their fault – but as they were paying the prisoner to work in the kitchens, a judge ruled they were liable.

‘The Ministry of Justice took the benefit of this work and I can see no reason why it should not take its burden,’ Lord Justice McCombe said at the Court of Appeal.