Prison union leaders in Northern Ireland are to recommend strike action in protest at attacks on officers, it emerged last night.
Even though management has warned that stoppages would be in breach of the law, representatives insisted that they were not prepared to wait until someone is killed.
Leaders of the Prison Officers' Association (POA) pledged to take a stand following months of attacks on members' homes.
The POA chairman, Mr Finlay Spratt, asked: "Are we going to wait until a child or a wife gets killed? I'm aware of my obligation under the law, but I also have an obligation to the lives of prison officers and their families. As leader of this union, I'm calling for a strike."
The crisis is centred on the high-security Maghaberry Prison in Co Antrim, where paramilitary factions are being segregated in an attempt to restore order.
Loyalists have been blamed for a spate of bomb attacks on officers' homes in order to achieve separation, while dissident republican inmates staged a so-called "dirty protest" as part of their campaign to be kept apart.
The authorities have now agreed to the demands and are undertaking a £14 million scheme to transform Maghaberry.
But as work is carried out, the POA claims non-paramilitary inmates, who are increasingly frustrated at the disruption to their regime, have begun lashing out at officers.
Two warders were injured yesterday in attacks and three more the day before.
Mr Spratt met Government officials in Belfast today to demand that more be done to protect his members. He emerged from the talks disappointed and vowed to put his recommendation to the POA executive tomorrow.
If the call for strike action is endorsed, up to 1,600 officers could be involved in a stoppage.
"They made it clear to me it was illegal for prison officers to go on strike, but I have to fight for what's right. A bullet went through the window of an officer's home last week and could so easily have hit his daughter," Mr Spratt said.
The Northern Ireland Prison Service stressed that negotiations should continue in an effort to reach agreement.
A spokeswoman said: "The Prison Service management held a useful and positive meeting with the POA. There are issues and concerns to be addressed and we firmly believe the best way to take this forward is through continued discussions." - (PA)