A PRETTY prison officer claimed she was forced out of her job for being "too sexy"

A PRETTY prison officer yesterday claimed she was forced out of her job for being "too sexy".

Petite Amitjo Kajla, 22, said she faced "barbs" from colleagues about wearing too much make-up and clothes more revealing than standard uniform.

She told a tribunal she had no alternative but to quit after she was:

BULLIED because of her attractive appearance and tiny, size four frame.

REPRIMANDED for being friendly with inmates, and MOCKED for carrying a handbag.

She claimed public remarks made about her at Brinsford Young Offenders Institution - for tearaway lads in the West Midlands - left her feeling "harassed and humiliated".

Ms Kajla is seeking compensation from the Prison Service, claiming she was effectively fired.

The tribunal, in Birmingham, heard how one young lag told her, "Miss, you look sexy" after her uniform was altered to fit her.

She insisted he was "just testing the water". And she added: "I was friendly to inmates but never a friend."

Dragged

But other officers warned her she risked being dragged into a cell and attacked. She said one senior colleague called her a "stupid little girl".

Miss Kajla told how she moved to Brinsford after a trouble-free spell at HMP Shrewsbury. But she immediately ran into trouble from a governor for wearing heavy make-up, bangles and a nose-stud.

Despite writing in her diary, "Make-up is me," she bought lighter shades to comply.

Senior prison officer Lee Hastings told the tribunal Miss Kajla often sat with groups of lags on her own and locked cell doors by herself.

He said this showed an unprofessional disregard for her own safety, and added: "It isn't part of a prison officer's role to socialise with inmates."

But Miss Kajla's solicitor Stephen Roberts accused Mr Hastings of bullying her.

He said: "You treated her less favourably because she was young and pretty." Mr Hastings responded: "I deny that."

Adam Farrer, for the Prison Service, said being "glammed up" was inappropriate.

And Miss Kajla was seen as a "soft touch" by lags, many of whom knew her address.

The hearing continues.