A female prison officer tried to smuggle a syringe into jail in a bid to artificially inseminate herself with an 'exceptionally dangerous' rapist inmate's baby, a court has been told.

Cherri-Ann Austin-Saddington, 29, became besotted with sex offender Bradley Trengrove after he was moved to HMP The Verne in Portland, Dorset.

The pair embarked on a six month relationship which involved them often having sex in prison workshops while nobody was around, Bournemouth Crown Court heard.

The lag claimed they had unprotected sex 30-40 times and the court was told she even got pregnant by him - although she later lost the baby.

Austin-Saddington was so infatuated with Trengrove, 31, that she went along with a bizarre plan to get pregnant by him again.