A former Belmarsh prison officer from Mottingham who made nearly £20,000 leaking information to the Daily Mirror about notorious inmates has been convicted of misconduct.

Grant Pizzey, of Widecombe Road, sold information over a seven-year period, using his wife Desra Reilly as a go-between to contact Daily Mirror reporter Greig Box Turnbull.

After a trial at the Old Bailey Pizzey, 50, was found guilty of misconduct in public office and Reilly, 48, also of Widecombe Road, was convicted of aiding and abetting.

They both denied the offences against them.

Reilly first contacted both The Sun and the Daily Mirror in December 2005 with a story about So Solid Crew rapper Dwayne Vincent, stage name Megaman, being found with a mobile phone after he was attacked in Belmarsh.

In a message to The Sun, she wrote: "I have information regarding a security lapse at Belmarsh.

"Anyone interested?"

Sun journalist James Clothier got back to her, only to be told that the Mirror had been first.

As well as the "exclusive" about Megaman, she handed over another tip to the Mirror about a smuggled pen gun security scare at Belmarsh.

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Pizzey, who worked as a prison officer at Belmarsh from 2000, was aware he was not allowed to speak to the press, which is why he used Reilly, a railway cafe worker, as the contact.

After the trial Detective Superintendent Larry Smith, leading on Operation Elveden, said: "When public officials behave in this way, they breach the trust and confidence placed in them by the public to act with honesty and integrity.

"In this case the evidence presented to the court showed that Pizzey was aware that in his role as a prisoner officer, selling confidential information obtained in the course of his duties was wrong."