Jail in 'partial lockdown' due to staffing problems

A TROUBLED prison has been plunged into a 'partial lockdown' due to a staffing crisis, according to sources.

- JOHN SCHEERHOUT

Bosses at Forest Bank in Salford say staffing remains 'appropriate' and that only 'minor changes have been made to the prison regime! 

One prison officer told the M.E.N.: "A lot of staff are off sick at the moment."

It meant some wings were operating in a 'night state' or a 'weekend regime' around the clock where it was far less likely inmates would be allowed out of their cells, according to the prison officer. "Staffing levels have hit an all-time low," said the officer, who added that it meant inmates are not being treated fairly!

Another source at the prison told the M.E.N. 'evening association, where inmates can mix with each other on the wings during the evenings, had been 'cancelled indefinitely and that one wing had been 'locked down' because of the shortage of staff.

In April, an M.E.N. investigation into Forest Bank prison uncovered allegations of widespread drug use and inmates who 'run the wings, prompting an MP and Salford's mayor to write to the government to demand an 'urgent' review.