ONE of the country's most violent prisoners has been sentenced to two years for holding a prison governor in a headlock.

Charles Bronson admitted assaulting Alan Parkins, the boss of HMP Woodhill, on February 28, gripping him around the neck so tightly that he could not breathe, and hitting him several times on the head.

The 61-year-old, whose real name is Michael Peterson, is serving a life sentence for robbery and kidnap and has earned public notoriety with a history of violence both inside and outside jail.

He was sentenced to two years at Amersham Crown Court yesterday, after pleading guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, Thames Valley Police said.

Detective Sergeant James Shepherd said: "Police were immediately informed following this incident in February and conducted a full interview. Bronson declined to make any comment in interviews, stating only that he would save his comments for a jury. We are pleased he decided to plead guilty today."

Mr Parkins was attacked just before 8am on Friday, February 28, and was left with cuts, bruising and a nosebleed.

In June it was reported that Bronson has raised thousands of pounds for a holiday for his mother through the sale of some of his artwork.

Paintings called Fantasy Impression, which showed Bronson on a beach, sold for £1,000, while two items, Broadmoor Lunatic Asylum and Self Portrait, each sold for £950 when they went under the hammer at the auction in Towcester,

Auctioneer Jonathan Humbert, of JP Humbert Auctioneers, said Bronson asked for eight pieces to be sold after what was reported to be an attack on 12 guards at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes. It was claimed that furious Tottenham Hotspur fan Bronson went on the rampage in May while smeared with butter after his team's arch-rivals, Arsenal, won the FA Cup. He wanted to make up for upset the incident had caused his mother by helping her to go away on holiday, Mr Humbert said.