After reading your report (The Argus, November 14), I ask the firefighters if they think their job is more dangerous than prison officers.

The prison service received a 0.75 per cent pay increase this year, yet officers face danger and humiliation every day.

There was an incident in Lincolnshire recently in which a prison was taken over by inmates.

One prison officer was badly beaten up and held hostage and his two colleagues had to go up against 70 inmates to get him out. This they did and, in doing so, were both badly beaten up as well.

Did they get a mention in the Press? No. Will they be given a badge for their courage? No. Does anybody give a damn? No.

Our eldest son is a prison officer, as is our youngest, and he was called in to help regain control of the prison.

He was in the front line of the operation and he and many of his colleagues fought the inmates for 13 hours until they regained control.

They were paid £13 an hour for putting their lives on the line. They just got on with the job they undertook under the conditions they were aware of.

The firefighters took on their job in the same fashion and knew the pay and conditions before they started.

They should stop whinging and either get on with the job or get out and go window cleaning or one of the other jobs they do on the side for cash in hand.

If any service deserves a massive pay rise, it is the prison service, which gets less a year than any other front-line service.

-R T Allcorn, Wilmington Way, Brighton