Dilapidated prisons harmful to inmates, report finds

Inmates in the crumbling prison estate have been bitten by rates and venomous spiders, according to a new report that lays bare the state of prisons in England and Wales.

- HOLLY BANCROFT

Vermin infestations are an “acute issue” across the prison estate, the report found, with inspectors describing cockroach invasions, biting flies living in the showers, dead rodents rotting on the wings and cells taken out of use due to bedbugs.

At Bullingdon prison, in Oxfordshire, inmates were bitten by venomous false widow spiders while at Hollesley Bay prison in Suffolk an inmate was bitten by a rat while sorting through rubbish. At HMP Pentonville, the rat infestation was so bad the kitchen had to be temporarily closed down in April 2024 for three months. Prisoners had to resort to sandwiches and, on one evening, freeze-dried army-grade rations.

The report, collated from the experience of Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB) at prisons across England and Wales, found that flooding and leaks frequently affected jails. At Bedford prison, the care and separation unit – which held some of the most vulnerable men in the prison – was situated underground and would regularly flood when it rained.