On the eve of being released from a nine-year sentence for attacking and stabbing a former friend, Mark O’Reilly threw boiling water over a fellow inmate at Peterborough prison.

The victim suffered life-changing injuries and no longer has full use of his right eye.

O’Reilly was jailed for a further six years which will run alongside the remainder of his nine- year sentence.

C Peter Hume said: “O’Reilly was already behind bars for a serious attack and this incident proves he still isn’t ready to be released back into society.

“The victim has been left scarred for life, both physically and mentally, as a result of O’Reilly’s actions.”

O’Reilly, 29, was jailed for nine years at Cambridge Crown Court in 2014 after he admitted to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm earlier that year.

On December l5 last year, the night before he was due to be released on licence after serving half of his sentence, he launched an attack on the man, who is in his 20s.

O’Reilly approached the man, who was playing pool, with a kettle full of boiling water and threw the contents at his face before being detained by prison staff.

In interview he told officers he had borrowed the kettle from another prisoner and had overreacted to something the victim said.

O’Reilly appeared at Peterborough Crown Court on April 28 for sentencing after he pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent at a previous hearing.

In addition to a further six years in prison, O’Reilly will be placed on licence for four years after his release from prison, meaning he must adhere to strict conditions, otherwise he will return to prison for the remainder of the licence period.

In 2015 a court heard how O’Reilly and his twin brother attacked a 22-year-old man, a former friend, after a fall-out over cannabis and a girl friend

The twins trapped the victim in a bedroom at a house in Eastfield Road, Peterborough, and whilst his brother threw a fire extinguisher at him, Mark O’Reilly stabbed him repeatedly with a knife.

The victim fell down the stairs and into the street to escape where he was found by paramedics and rushed to hospital. He was treated for four stab wounds and collapsed lungs,

Police described it as a “premeditated, brutal and sustained attack on the victim who received a number of life-threatening wounds”.