AN inmate at an Oxfordshire jail is suing after he fell off the top bunk in his cell.

Gerry Cooper cut his head open after rolling out of bed at Bullingdon Prison, near Bicester, and is complaining the beds breach health and safety as he seeks a pay-out.

In a letter to prisoners' magazine Inside Time, Cooper said bunk beds were "an accident waiting to happen" and suggested inmates should not be compelled to sleep on the top bunk.

Cooper said: "In November 2005, I turned over in my sleep and fell from the top bunk of my bed, sustaining a bad gash to the head.

"I am currently pursuing a claim for negligence.

"The Governor here denies any liability, but informs me that any inmate who does not feel safe in a bunk bed on the top bunk will not be compelled to go into one.

"If this is indeed Prison Service policy then I feel that all inmates need to be aware of the implications, as I understand that currently all 30,000 are in accommodation designed for one.

"Since my fall, this prison has not upgraded its risk assessment of bunk beds, which I consider to be a breach of health and safety regulations. Bunk beds are an accident waiting to happen."

A Prison Service spokesman said its policy on bunk beds was not as suggested in Cooper's letter.