TWO prisoners implicated in the death of a fellow inmate at Salford's Forest Bank jail, have been dramatically cleared after a trial lasting more than a week.

Ryan Beaver, 35, who was described as a model prisoner who was quiet, polite, and kept himself to himself died in hospital after an assault in his cell following a row over an electric fan worth less than £10.

It was alleged that three other prisoners were involved in the attack.

One of them was Mr Beaver's cellmate Andrew Pilkington, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the eve of the start of the trial at Manchester Crown Court.

But after deliberating for more than five hours, a jury of eight women and four men found the other two - James Fraser and Andrew Whittle - not guilty of the same charge.

The court had been told that the cause of the row had been Mr Beaver selling his 'padmate' Pilkington's electric fan to repay a debt he himself owed for two packs of tobacco.

The court heard that Pilkington flew into a rage when he found that his fan had been switched for another that didn't work, and immediately blamed Mr Fraser for taking it.

Debt

When Mr Fraser told him that it was, in fact, Mr Beaver that had given it to him in repayment of the tobacco debt, he transferred his anger to him, and punched him in the face.

The Crown's case was that Mr Fraser, 28, and 31-year-old Andrew Whittle were equally implicated in the death because of their own involvement.

Mr Fraser was said to have also hit Mr Beaver, while Mr Whittle closed the cell door and kept guard outside.

The court was told that Mr Beaver, who tragically had been due for release from Forest Bank at the time of the attack in September last year, had been grabbed in a headlock by Fraser after attempting to run from the cell, and then collapsed.

A Code Yellow alert was sounded to inform staff of a collapsed and unresponsive prisoner, and efforts were made to revive him.

He was rushed to hospital but died later despite all attempts to save him.

A post mortem later showed the cause of death to be a haemorrhage to the base of the brain, caused by a blow or blows.

The jury were told at the start of the trial that Pilkington, in pleading guilty to the manslaughter charge, had claimed Mr Fraser joined in the attack, and that Mr Whittle was also implicated.

Mr Fraser maintained that Pilkington was the only assailant, and Mr Whittle denied having any involvement in the incident at all.

Violence

During the hearing it was revealed that Pilkington, who has a history of violence and drug taking, had previously threatened that he would assault anyone who was bunked with him.

It was said that he had tendencies to become paranoid and aggressive and heard voices when on drugs, and made it clear that he wanted a cell on his own.

Unknown to him, letters written by Mr Beaver, clearly showed that he also hated sharing with Pilkington, describing him as `a pain with a split personality.'

He wrote: There's always something going on with him. It makes my time here seem longer. He wants to sort his head out."

Pilkington, who will be sentenced at a separate hearing, admitted in court that he had gone off the rails at an early age despite a private education, which included a spell at boarding school up to the age of 11.

Mr Justice Sweeney thanked the jury panel at the end of the trial for their efforts.

He told them: "This was in many ways a very difficult case. You must have felt a heavy weight upon you.

"It is absolutely obvious however that you have given this case the most careful attention and discharged your responsibilities conscientiously and faithfully." Tweet