A prisoner found hanging by torn bed sheets in his cell was left "in situ" for four hours - breaking jail rules, an inquest heard.

Jurors heard how the officer in charge, David Griffiths, decided not to cut down the body of 33-year-old Richard Carter, from Prospect Street, Haworth, after his death on August 26, 2004.

The prisons ombudsmen produced a critical report in the wake of the death at Leeds Prison, Armley, containing a string of recommendations for improvement, the inquest heard.

Mr Carter's body was only discovered during a routine morning roll call and he was never checked during the night despite telling prison staff he would put up a fight if they tried to carry out a planned transfer to another jail the next day.

Leeds Coroner's Court heard how Mr Carter had politely told staff the day before his death that he would fight them in the morning and the only way they would move him from Leeds Prison would be in a body belt.

The reluctance of Mr Carter, who longed for solitude, to be moved to Lyndholme Prison, where accommodation can be shared by up to six prisoners, was reported to the governor but the decision for him to go was not changed.

The court heard from Mr Griffiths that jail staff had experienced a "horrific week" before Mr Carter's death - there had been four attempted suicides.

But on the night of Mr Carter's death nothing had alerted officers that anything was wrong said Mr Griffiths.

He also defended his decision not to cut down Mr Carter's body the next morning.

He said: "It was a very emotive decision. With hindsight now I would probably have done different but at the time I wanted to give the scenes of crime officers the best possible chance of gathering evidence."

The court heard how single-man Mr Carter, convicted for an attack on a shopper in Keighley in April 2004, still had his feet touching a chair when he was found.

Mr Griffiths said he turned to get scissors to cut the home-made ligature but a nurse present told him it was too late and Mr Carter had been dead for some time.

Mr Griffiths then told how he sealed the cell until police arrived and Mr Carter was finally declared dead by a doctor about four hours later.

As well as a police investigation, an inquiry was launched by the Prisons Ombudsman's Office, which produced a critical report of circumstances leading up to and after the death.

Eileen Mannion, senior investigator for the Ombudsman's Office, told the court the Ombudsman said leaving Mr Carter's body for four hours was not respectful.

The report also criticised the fact that Mr Carter's property was not immediately returned to his devastated family.

In a list of recommendations for improvement, the prison and its health care team were also criticised for poor form filling and bad record keeping.

It also recommended a training needs analysis be carried out for staff receiving new prisoners and questioned whether the use of rubber stamps when deciding whether prisoners are fit for transfers gave enough detailed information.

The report stated how important it was that prisoners' records from courts, probation officers and other agencies should be examined.

The jury's verdict is expected later.