Staffordshire prisons 'more violent' than riot-hit HMP Bedford

HMPs Brinsford, Dovegate, Featherstone, Oakwood, and Swinfen Hall all had more assaults last year than the Bedford jail, where on Sunday some 200 inmates went on a rampage.

In 2015 HMP Bedford recorded some 100 assaults but Brinsford, the young offenders institute in the village of Featherstone, South Staffordshire, saw 276 assaults take place last year - the highest in the county.

Oakwood, the G4S-run prison, had some 263 with Swinfen Hall, near Lichfield, recording 234 and Dovegate, in Uttoxeter, 239.

Featherstone, the scene of an attempted prisoner escape earlier this year involving a drone and a bolt cutter, recorded 146 assaults.

Only Stafford, 29, and Drake Hall, 21, recorded less assaults than Bedford.

Yesterday, just a day after the Bedford incident, it emerged that two prisoners had escaped from HMP Pentonville - the London prisoner where a prisoner was stabbed to death last month.

The Ministry of Justice is yet to confirm any details around the Pentonville escape but reports suggest the prisoners escaped using diamond-tipped cutting equipment to cut through cell bars.

The escape was uncovered in the morning when prison officers found mannequins in the inmates' beds.

Questions have now been raised about the Government's prison reform plans.

Last week Justice Secretary Liz Truss announced a programme of measures aimed at halting a rising tide of violence across the estate in England and Wales.

It includes a recruitment drive to add 2,500 new prison officers to the frontline by 2018.

But Steve Gillan, general secretary of the Prison Officers Association, argued the reforms are "all future work".

He said: "We think they will have difficulty recruiting because of the poor salary and terms that new officers are having to face.

"What we are saying is you can't have all that reform if you don't have a structure in place to deal with all the issues in our prisons now.

"They are offering cream tomorrow but what about today?"

An investigation has been launched into the Bedford jail disturbance, which erupted shortly after 5pm on Sunday.

Specialist riot officers were deployed at the category B prison in Bedford town centre, with police cordoning off an area outside and emergency services on stand-by.

Some guards were forced to retreat to a 'safe place'.

Unverified footage supposedly from inside the facility posted online revealed chaotic scenes with scores of prisoners shouting and bellowing in walkways and gangways.

A Prison Service spokesman said: "Specially trained prison officers and staff from the emergency services have successfully resolved an incident involving a number of prisoners at HMP Bedford.

"An investigation into this incident will take place. We are absolutely clear that prisoners who behave in this way will be punished and could spend significantly longer behind bars."

There were no injuries to prison staff but two inmates were treated for injuries that were not thought to be serious.