Featherstone prison 'among worst in country'

The Ministry of Justice has rated the prison's performance 'of concern' – putting it among 31 other underachieving prisons in the country.

Swinfen Hall near Lichfield and HMP Dovegate near Uttoxeter were also given the same ranking in the new report by the Government body.

The report revealed Featherstone has lost almost 100 members of staff in four years.

While its population has increased by more than a dozen and is at its highest ever level since records began in 1995.

It had 337 prisoner officers in 2011/12 but this had decreased to 247 by 2015/16. During the same period the number of inmates went from 675 to 688.

Overcrowding at the prison is at 6.3 per cent, with 43 inmates living in 'crowded accommodation', according to the MoJ.

Swinfen Hall near Lichfield is the only other prison in Staffordshire to have prisoners living in crowded accommodation.

The figures also show that Featherstone had an inmate escape in 2015/16. A prisoner was also released in error in the same period.

Only six prisons were rated worse for performance than the three Staffordshire jails – Bristol, Doncaster, Hewell in Worcestershire, Isis in Greenwich, Liverpool and Wormwood Scrubs in London.

South Staffordshire MP Gavin Williamson said the report was 'really disturbing'.

Frank Beardsmore, the chairman of Featherstone and Brinsford Parish Council, expressed his concern about the low numbers of staff and their current working conditions.

He said: "The first thing I would like to pick up on is the overcrowding.

"The more prisoners and the less staff the more pressure it puts on prisoner officers and explains why they have had a high turnover rate of staff with the conditions they are under. I know people who work in the prison and they say it is not very good at the moment.

"The escapee is a concern, it shows that with a lack of staff then episodes like this can happen which puts the pressure and the danger onto the public with an inmate walking free.

"It needs a good review. I think this is the kind of thing the parish council would pass onto to our MP."

Gavin Williamson MP said the county's prisons needed to be 'running to a high standard'.