Free at last! Oakwood bosses sorry as they forget to release inmate for a month

Ashley King should have been freed from Oakwood Prison in Featherstone on February 8 but was still behind bars 30 days later, it emerged today.

The 23-year-old was finally released – with an apology - on Tuesday when the mix up was spotted by one of the prison's administration staff. They make regular checks at both 14 and two days before the projected release date of an inmate in case extra days have been added to the sentence for misbehaviour while held behind bars.

But this time the alarmed official realised that the jail had forgotten to take into account the amount of time King spent in custody on remand while waiting for his case to be resolved in court. This is always counted as part of a prison sentence.

The prisoner had been given a 12 month sentence after being convicted of two charges of assaulting a police officer as well as causing criminal damage and stealing a bike.

Mr Sean Oliver, Deputy Director of HMP Oakwood, which opened in 2012 and has space for 1,600 inmates, confirmed: "Our official review suggests the period this prisoner served on remand had not been served as part of his sentence. He was released as soon as this came to light through the checking process. Such incidents are rare but we are not complacent and are investigating this case to understand why this happened."

In January a 40-year-old prolific burglar who hit national headlines after falling asleep on a victim's sofa was found dead in his cell at HMP Oakwood which opened in 2012 and has space for 1,600 inmates

Scott Tinsley – jailed for 40 months last year – was found unresponsive by custody officers on January 3. There are no suspicious circumstances. Mr Oliver said efforts were made to perform CPR but he was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene.

The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has carried out an investigation into the death and will send a report to the coroner ahead of an inquest.

Tinsley, of Cobridge, Stoke-on-Trent, had been caught red-handed after his victim found him asleep on the sofa after taking drugs.

In a separate incident at the prison earlier this year another inmate went on hunger strike for four days complaining about his application for parole.