BRITAIN'S most dangerous prisoner is to try and win his freedom by using a banned video of him holding a man hostage.

The tape shows the bare-chested Charles Bronson, from Ellesmere Port, threatening his terrified victim with a broken bottle during a 44-hour protest about his treatment as a prisoner.

The three-hour tape includes 12 minutes of footage showing Bronson wielding a spear and leading educational officer Phil Danielson around like a dog with a skipping rope.

Bronson, 51, now wants to use the CCTV footage at a High Court hearing next week which could free him.

The prisoner, who changed his name from Michael Peterson to Charles Bronson in honour of his Hollywood hero, has been behind bars for all but three months of his life, since the age of 19.