Life sentence cannot be extended

A judge has said it is regrettable the law doesn’t allow her to extend the life sentence of a convicted murderer who punched a prison nurse in the face.

Jeffrey Dumbrell, aged 36, described by his barrister as a “notorious” criminal, punched the nurse as she was delivering his medication in Wheatfield Prison’s maximum security unit.

His current jail sentence cannot be extended, Ronan Kennedy, prosecuting, told the court, as “you can’t make a sentence consecutive to a life sentence”.