Featherstone prison 'fight club': Concern as footage shows inmates brawling

The video is believed to have been filmed on a mobile phone smuggled into Featherstone Prison and features two men laying into each other with vicious blows.

The topless pair have strapping around their hands and are urged on by around 20 other prisoners who have gathered to see the violence.

It is the latest damning episode for bosses at the government-run jail in Staffordshire after a report by the Independent Monitoring Board, released in December, revealed widespread violence and use of hard drugs.

The Prison Service said is working to remove the video from the internet and had reported the incident to Staffordshire Police.

The prisoners who have gathered to watch appear excited about the prospect of the fight as the two men are seen to square off.

The black prisoner involved appears to land a right hook early on in the bout which prompts jeers from the crowd.

As the fight goes on the black fighter gets the better of his opponent and forces him up against a wall, before knocking him to the ground on the other side of the room.

The footage shows the fight lasting several minutes but at no point can officers be seen to appear and to interrupt the violence.

Later on the white prisoner finds himself pinned on the ground while his opponent repeatedly seeks to punch his head.

At this point two other prisoners can be seen filming the action on mobile phones, which are banned from jails.

Councillor Bob Cope, who represents Featherstone on South Staffordshire Council, said he was deeply concerned by the apparently unstable conditions inside Featherstone.

He said: "Taxpayers who see this kind of thing will clearly not be happy.

"I frequently attend meetings of Featherstone Parish Council and they are not happy either.

"Information coming out to us appears to be dampened down and we only get to know what is really going on through things like this.

"There is big concern about what is going on.

"The Government is now on about introducing an extra 2,100 officers across the country but they have already created these problems but trying to run many prisons through the private sector which has affected the morale of officers in those prisons run by the government like Featherstone.

"Another factor is that experienced prison officers have been leaving the prison service and now there are too many officers with no experience of work in prisons."

The Prison Service said it would not hesitate to take disciplinary action against those involved in the fight at the 700-capacity prison.

A spokesperson for the service said: "This behaviour is completely unacceptable and we are working to remove the content from social media. We are committed to making prisons places of safety and reform and are stepping up measures to tackle violence and find and block mobile phones in prisons."

A Staffordshire Police spokesman said: "We are aware of this incident and we are working with prison authorities to investigate any offences that have been committed."

The report by the Independent Monitoring Board, which was published in December, revealed there was; an increase in drug-carrying drones being flown into the prison.

It also revealed there were 155 incidents of self harm; 144 attacks on prisoners; 40 assaults on staff; two deaths and 60 prisoners moved to other jails after a 'major incident'.

It added that psychoactive substances, such as Black Mamba, continued to be a problem but that there is a 'worrying trend' of an increase in the use of hard drugs like heroin.

It also acknowledged there had been a reduction in 'uniformed officers' which had contributed to a rise in violence at the jail.

Gavin Williamson, MP for South Staffordshire, said in December he intended to hold an urgent meeting with the Government's Justice Minister over the "shocking conditions" at Featherstone.

*For video see expressandstar.com