Where is HMP Durham, how many inmates are held there and who are its most famous prisoners?
FROM the Great Train Robbery gang to evil Moors murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, HMP Durham has housed some of Britain's most despised and infamous prisoners.
As a new Channel 4 documentary reveals life behind bars, here's the lowdown on the notorious prison.
Where is HMP Durham?
HMP Durham is a Georgian era jail based in Elvet, Couty Durham.
Built in 1810, it's now a Category B man's jail after women prisoners were moved in 2005 due to overcrowding and suicides.
It took its first prisoners in 1819 when the facility had some 600 cells.
Between 1869 and 1958, 95 executions took place on the gallows at the prison or Durham courthouse.
How many inmates are there in the prison?
As of February 2017, Durham prison has been able to hold up to 996 lags.
The facility has seven wings plus segregation cells and healthcare areas.
It's a local category B prison which takes both remand and convicted inmates from Durham, Tyneside and Cumbria courts.
In January 2018, figures revealed HMP Durham had one of the worst records in the country for the number of deaths in custody.
Nine inmates at HMP Durham died in 2017, three of which were suicides, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Justice.
A 2014 report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons found that a third of inmates tested positive for drug use, a rate almost twice as high as would be expected in similar prisons.
Who are its most famous prisoners?
Once a category A prison, HMP Durham has housed some of the country's most evil inmates over the years. They include:
- Ian Brady: The monster was convicted of killing five children in 1966 alongside his twisted girlfriend Myra Hindley – dubbed the “most hated woman in Britain”.On July 12, 1963, twisted Brady had told Hindley he wanted to “commit his perfect murder” when he spotted 16-year-old Pauline Reade. Four of their victims' bodies were found buried in Saddleworth Moor. But Brady never revealed where he left the body of Keith Bennett, who went missing in 1964 at the age of 12. Keith’s mum made it her life’s mission to find out the truth, but she died in 2012. Brady never disclosed where Keith’s body is. Brady was locked up in 1966 and spent the first few years of his prison life inside HMP Durham, before being moved to Wormwood Scrubs in the 1970s.
- Myra Hindley: Brady's twisted partner in crime, Hindley was originally caged in Holloway but was later transferred to Durham. Reports from the prison say she tried to transform her life by becoming a dedicated Christian and enrolling in educational courses. But prison staff were not all convinced.
- Bruce Reynolds: Bruce Reynolds was the mastermind of the Great Train Robbery. The robbers stopped a Glasgow-London overnight train and stole millions of pounds worth of bank notes. Reynolds and his 15 man gang used fake signals to trick the driver into halting in the Buckinghamshire countryside. After the robbery, Reynolds went on the run to Mexico and Canada. He assumed a new identity, eventually moving to Devon, before the police caught up with him and locked him up in 1968. He was sent to a specially-built part of Durham Prison along with other train robbers.
- Rose West: A murderer with 10 convictions, West is one of Britain’s most notorious serial killers. Her victims even include her own daughter, Heather and stepdaughter, Charmaine. West - who is rumoured to have struck up a friendship with Myra Hindley - was locked up in HMP Durham and is now in HMP Low Newton, County Durham.
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