Staff taken to hospital after major disturbance at Swinfen Hall prison
Two staff members were taken to hospital after a major disturbance broke out at Swinfen Hall prison near Lichfield, according to reports.
The fracas took place on Thursday and is believed to have involved around 20 inmates armed with chairs and table legs, while a number of prisoners are thought to have been barricaded inside a cell.
Police are investigating the disturbance which reportedly left one staff member with a broken jaw and another with head and facial injuries.
The facility is now running as normal and prisoners involved in the incident have been moved to other institutions.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: "A number of offenders at Swinfen Hall prison were involved in a disturbance on Thursday.
"This was quickly resolved by staff, the offenders involved have since been moved to other establishments and the police are investigating.
"We do not tolerate violence against our hardworking and dedicated prison officers. Those responsible for violence face spending longer behind bars."
This is not the first of such incidents at the HMP Swinfen Hall, which holds male prisoners aged 21 to 25.
The most recent incident was in August when police entered the prison with riot shields after inmates took over a wing and forced the institution into lockdown.
The prison and young offenders institute holds around 650 prisoners, who are serving from four years to life. Inmates are housed in single cells in nine different wings.
HMP Swinfen Hall opened in February 1963 as a borstal, which was a youth detention centre. In 1972 it became a long-term young offenders institution.
