By RNZ
The Department of Corrections says five prisoners got drunk on home-brew and used a skip filled with water as a swimming pool, before one of them attacked a prison guard.
The staff member was uninjured but one of the prisoners was so intoxicated he needed medical treatment.
The inmates were meant to be working in the engineering workshop at Christchurch Men's Prison, where their tasks included filling skips with water to check for holes.
Chief custodial officer Neil Beales said they were found climbing in and out of a skip on 29 October.