Medomsley prison guard Alexander Flavell denied abuse claims

Alexander Flavell, pictured at an earlier court hearing, is too ill to stand trial

A former prison officer denied hitting young inmates in the 1970s and told police he had no knowledge of sexual abuse at the facility.

Alexander Flavell, 89, worked at Medomsley Detention Centre near Consett, County Durham.

He has denied charges including misconduct in public office, serious sexual assault and indecent assault.

He is unfit to stand trial but jurors at Teesside Crown Court have been asked to consider if he carried out the acts.

Medomsley was run as a detention centre for young male offenders from 1961 to 1987.

Police interviews from December 2014 were read out to the court in which Mr Flavell told officers he had not physically restrained anyone there and never "hit, punched [or] kicked any inmates".

Instead, he said he would give them "a talking to and ask them to do exercises like press-ups or bunny hops as a punishment".

He said he had "no knowledge of any sexual abuse in Medomsley and would've reported it if he had seen any".

'Fatty Flavell'

The jury heard evidence from a man who was sent to the centre as a teenager after stealing £2.70 worth of lead.

He said he was "clouted immediately after arriving in the reception area" in 1969.

Mr Flavell - who was known as "Fatty Flavell" - regularly punched, kicked and hit him with a stick which was used for measuring the bed, he added.

On one occasion in the bathroom, he said Mr Flavell made him shave more than 20 times with a razor until his face was cut.

Medomsley Detention Centre closed in 1987 having operated since 1961

The prosecution alleges Mr Flavell, who has not been present in court, was known as a bully who "inflicted sexual abuse and unlawful violence on several inmates".

He joined the prison service after 12 years in the armed forces and is accused of serious sexual assault - which would now be charged as rape - by attacking an inmate in the hospital unit in 1971.

He is also accused of indecently assaulting a different boy in the kitchens with chef Neville Husband in 1972.

Husband was convicted of serious sexual offences in 2003 and 2005 and has since died.

Another complainant, who has since died, said Mr Flavell broke his arm by repeatedly smashing it against a wall.

The misconduct charge, which spans 1969 to 1975, related to a number of complainants who alleged Mr Flavell committed acts of violence on them, the court has been told.

The trial continues.