Colin Maxwell Booth, 28, and another inmate broke out of their cell in August last year, using a flame to melt the window frame.

Booth braced himself against a cupboard and kicked out the glass pane, allowing the pair to roam through the Alexander Maconochie Centre unchecked. They used a hidden pitchfork and garden fork to cut through three interior fences, causing about $1030 in damage.

Booth claimed he wanted to climb onto a roof to stage a protest over the coldness of his accommodation. He was charged only with property damage, avoiding more serious charges for attempting to escape custody.

The pair eventually gave themselves up to guards, using an intercom at 2.45am to call the control room, telling them they were cold and wished to be returned to the cell.

Booth - who was on remand for burglary at the time - said the guards had not listened to his complaints about the cold. But, in sentencing Booth on Wednesday, the magistrate, Bernadette Boss, said there were better ways of airing his concerns than damaging property.

Booth's lawyer, Darryl Perkins, said the offence had a profound impact on his client's life inside the AMC.

He was stripped of several privileges, put in close confinement, had his access to in-custody employment and education programs restricted, was classified as a maximum security prisoner, and had visits and phone calls restricted to one each per week.

Mr Perkins said the sentence for the property damage should not be ''crushing'', saying his client wished to gain parole, live with his mother on release, and work harder on not getting into trouble with the law.

Dr Boss told Booth that the community had been forced to pay for the damage his actions caused.

She urged him to pay serious attention to rehabilitation to avoid getting stuck in a revolving door of offending and spending time in jail.

Booth was sentenced to 12 months in jail, backdated to December last year. He is currently serving a four-year sentence for the burglary.