Prison warders start photocopying letters to lags after discovering they were being sprayed with SPICE

PRISON bosses have been forced to start photocopying family photographs and letters sent in to prisoners after they discovered they were being sprayed with SPICE.

Following a crack-down on the drug at HMP Altcourse wardens discovered relatives had taken to putting the mind-bending drug on post so their loved ones could get high by smoking the paper.

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But the trick has been rumbled and officers are now photocopying letters on delivery.

The Cat B men’s prison in Liverpool, Merseyside, is one of the most violent and over-crowded in the country.

Altcourse director Steve Williams said educating inmates over the dangers of using the drug spice is another way they are trying to reduce its use within the prison.

He said he was aware of one addict at another jail who had to wear an adult nappy due to the damage it caused to his health.

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He said: “Each grade of NPS is different because it’s manufactured, you don’t know [what is in it]. You could have a hardened drug user take it and have a real bad effect from it.

“So we do a lot of education with prisoners around it.

“We now have to check the mail because they are spraying it on paper and they smoke bits of the paper, which gives them the same effect.

“We’ve had to take measures where we now photocopy mail - we’ve had it coming in on prisoner’s birthday cards, family photos, solicitor letters. It comes in through a wide range of means.”

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Violence remains an issue at the G4S-run complex but a watchdog inspection found attacks, self-harming and drug levels had fallen over recent years.

In the report, compiled following a visit in November, Peter Clarke, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said: “While all these issues were still prevalent at Altcourse, violence and self-harm were decreasing year on year, and there was evidence that NPS [new psychoactive substances, such as Spice] use had also declined considerably.

"The prison had been particularly proactive in addressing these challenges.”

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