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'SWALESIDE IS BURNING'

HMP Swaleside prison riot as 60 inmates take control of wing and set fires

Fifth disturbance at English jails this month as two former home secretaries say prison population should be halved

SIXTY inmates took control of a prison wing last night in the latest riot to hit a British jail.

Fires were lit at Category B HMP Swaleside, home to 1,100 lags, while pictures emerged of prisoners holding a wooden plank posing in HMP Swaleside.

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This image is believed to be from inside HMP Swaleside this evening where prisoners are riotingCredit: SWNS:South West News Service

Video footage filmed on an illegal mobile phone showed prisoners wearing masks, letting off fire extinguishers and waving around pool balls while shouting "Swaleside is burning".

Specially trained guards known as Tornado squads were used and the incident was contained to a landing on A wing which prisoners took control of shortly before 7pm on Thursday.

The rest of the jail, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, was reportedly secure.

the prison was a "particularly difficult place to work".

He added: "It's lifer prisoners so prisoners there are in for long periods of time, they're big powerful guys, there is a lot of violence, a lot of drugs in those prisons at this moment of time."

A prisoner holds pool balls in a video sent from inside the jail where lags are riotingCredit: SWNS:South West News Service
A specialist "Tornado" squad of specially trained guards has been called to the prisonCredit: PA:Press Association
Emergency services have been called to the riot as guards work to regain control of a landing in A wingCredit: PA:Press Association
The Prison Officers Association says there is an ongoing incident at Swaleside prison with 60 inmates involvedCredit: PA:Press Association
HMP Swaleside is on the Isle of Sheppey in KentCredit: PA:Press Association Archive

An HM Inspectorate of Prisons report in July described the prison as "dangerous" and found levels of violence were "far too high", with many of the incidents serious.

A survey found 69 per cent of inmates had felt unsafe at some point, significantly higher than at similar facilities.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons also said the use of force was high, while the segregation unit was described as "filthy".

It comes after a riot at HMP Birmingham last week that involved up to 600 prisoners and was described by experts as the worst for 25 years.

Footage from the riot showed prisoners running wild, throwing tables, stealing computers and using fire extinguishers as the facility descended into chaos.

Emergency services are outside the prison where 60 prisoners are rioting and have taken control of one wing

Earlier this week union officials said guards at HMP Hull were worried about their safety after the transfer of 15 inmates from Birmingham following the riot.

It is the fourth disturbance at an English prison in less than two months.

On November 6, 200 inmates went on a rampage at Bedford Prison and a national response unit had to be sent to an incident at HMP Lewes in East Sussex on 29 October.

Carl Brookes and Ross Queen pose for selfie during the Birmingham prison riotCredit: Facebook

POA members held protests outside jails last month amid health and safety concerns after figures showed rising levels of violence.

Today  two former home secretaries and a former deputy prime minister said the prison population in England and Wales should be cut by almost a half as the number of people locked up had “gone well beyond what is safe or sustainable”.


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