A PRISONER tried to hang himself at Bolton Crown Court just hours after he had been convicted of serious drug offences.

Barrington Laguerre was stopped by vigilant Group 4 custody officers just as he was about to hang himself from a light fitting.

Laguerre, aged 40, had been remanded in custody after a jury returned majority guilty verdicts on him and two co-defendants following a trial.

Jamaican-born Laguerre had denied conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin from a friend's address in Bradford Street, Bolton.

He had been on bail throughout the trial but had been remanded in custody until sentencing on July 26.

Laguerre was discovered during a routine check of the cell where he was being held before being transferred to Walton jail in Liverpool.

Staff managed to calm Laguerre by talking to him. He was taken to prison where he will be placed on a suicide watch.

A Group 4 spokesman said: "Thanks to the professionalism of our staff, a man was stopped from self-harming."

Earlier, the court had heard that a police raid discovered £18,000 worth of crack cocaine, £3,000 worth of heroin and almost £7,000 in cash. Money transfer orders in false names made out to people in Jamaica were also found.