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Britain’s most notorious prisoner Charles Bronson sparked a dramatic security stand-off - because his apple crumble was 'served without custard'.

The 73-year-old staged a sit-down protest in an exercise yard at maximum-security HMP Wakefield last week, having defied repeated orders to leave.

Prison officers wearing riot gear were eventually called in and forced Bronson back into his cell in the jail’s segregation unit, the Daily Mail understands.

The extraordinary impasse was said to have been triggered by events at dinner on Monday when Bronson was handed his favourite dessert - apple crumble, but without custard.

The missing accompaniment was said to have 'infuriated' the veteran inmate - who has spent more than half a century behind bars - prompting him to stage his protest the following day.

A source at the Category A prison - nicknamed Monster Mansion because of the calibre of criminals it holds - told the Daily Mail: 'He was told more than once that exercise time was over and that he needed to come back inside, but he simply dug his heels in.

'With Bronson, even something as small as a pudding can become a major security headache because officers cannot afford to assume he is bluffing.

'The whole thing started because he got apple crumble without custard the night before.

The 73-year-old (pictured), from Luton, has spent most of the past 50 years behind bars - and largely in solitary confinement - since he was first jailed aged 21 in 1974

Over the years, the convict (pictured, in 1997) has taken 11 hostages in nine different confrontations with guards, which culminated in him holding a prison art teacher captive for 44 hours in 1999 - and saw him handed a discretionary life sentence

'He loves his food and saw it as another example of the prison not giving him what he believes he is entitled to, so he decided to make his point in the yard.

'Once it became clear he was not moving, specially equipped officers had to be brought in to bring the incident to an end.'

It is understood that internal prison staff dealt with the incident, which happened in a yard linked to the Close Supervision Centre - a unit where Wakefield's most violent and disruptive prisoners are held. The stand-off did not last long.

The source added: 'Three teams comprised of three guards surrounded him. Bronson ran at the shield, looked to the sky and shouted, "This is for Reggie Kray".

Bronson, who was moved from HMP Long Lartin after attacking a prisoner, is effectively held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day.

He is not permitted to associate with other prisoners, and must use the gym and shower facilities alone.

Bronson, who is legally known as Charles Salvador, was first jailed in 1974 at the age of 22 for armed robbery and wounding and has spent most of his life inside for a string of attacks on warders and prisoners across a number of British jails.

The timing of Bronson's sit-down protest in Wakefield comes as he prepares for a parole board hearing in November.

Bronson, appearing via video link from HMP Woodhill, during his public parole hearing in 2023

Pictured: Bronson arriving at the Old Bailey for the second day of his appeal in 2004

He had hoped that officials would recommend a gradual reduction in his security conditions, potentially paving the way for his eventual release on licence.

He had said in a conversation with a friend earlier this year: 'I'm very hopeful. I'm not expecting to get it, but I'm expecting to get something.

'And once I've had this parole out of the way, they've then got two years to sort me out, put me in a cat C, cat D, give me a hostel, give me some home leave, and they're not giving me anything. I've earned it. I've actually earned... a bloody break in life.'

However, his latest bizarre stunt may cost him the prospect of freedom, the source said.

'He wants to persuade the Parole Board that he has changed, that he can control himself yet he's causing a major disturbance over missing custard.

'He says he wants the chance to spend his final years of his life on the outside, but incidents like this raise the obvious question of whether he has been rehabilitated.

'There are a lot of people at Wakefield who would say "no",' the source said.

The Parole Board is expected to consider a wide range of evidence, including Bronson’s original offences, his extensive record of violence behind bars, any evidence that his behaviour has changed and the impact of his crimes upon his victims.

Wakefield is not unfamiliar territory for Bronson, who has been held at the West Yorkshire jail during previous stages of his extraordinary prison career.

During one earlier period there, he was reportedly held in a highly secure enclosure that became known as the 'Hannibal Cage'.

It was also during a previous spell at Wakefield that prison officers are said to have encouraged him to focus on drawing and cartoons, helping to begin an interest in art that has since become central to his claim that he is a changed man.

Before arriving at Wakefield, Bronson had been held at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes.

It was from Woodhill that he appeared at a public Parole Board hearing in March 2023, attempting to convince a panel that he was no longer dangerous.

During three days of hearings, he joked that he had eaten 'more porridge than Goldilocks and the Three Bears' and insisted that he was tired of prison life.

However, a panel concluded his risk could not be safely managed outside a high-security prison.

Bronson developed a fearsome reputation for attacks on prisoners and staff, rooftop protests and a series of hostage sieges.

During one trial, he described having taken 11 hostages in nine separate sieges.

His victims over the years have included prison officers, governors, doctors and even his own solicitor.

In 1999, Bronson held prison art teacher Phil Danielson hostage at HMP Hull for 44 hours.

Mr Danielson was tied up, assaulted and threatened with improvised weapons during the terrifying ordeal.

Bronson received an indefinite life sentence for false imprisonment in February 2000.

Although the minimum term attached to that sentence expired in February 2003, repeated Parole Board panels have decided that he cannot yet safely be released.

His most recent conviction for a violent offence followed an attack on a prison governor in 2014.

A prison service spokesperson said: 'We do not comment on individual prisoners.'