Prison officers refuse to take up posts after colleague strangled by inmate at 'drug-ridden' jail

Prison officers at a “drug-ridden” jail initially refused to take up their posts the morning after one of their number was choked unconscious during an attack by an inmate.

Staff at HMP Lindholme, in South Yorkshire, demanded restrictions on prisoners’ movements until safety measures could be put in place in the wake of the incident on Thursday night.

The Prison Officers’ Association (POA) said the jail's governor initially refused their request, demanding they “carried on as normal” and fully unlock cells.

Officers arriving at work on Friday morning did not immediately take up their posts as they discussed the next steps, The Independent understands.

Following an emergency meeting the governor then agreed to allow a restricted regime for prisoners until substantive talks are held.

Mark Fairhurst, national chair of the POA, said staff “wanted action taken” after two colleagues were attacked on Thursday and one passed out while being strangled.

“The governor wanted to carry on as normal, as if nothing has happened,” he told The Independent.

“But staff deserve to be able to work in a safe environment. Levels of violence have spiked at Lindholme.”

He said officers wanted inmates to be allowed out of cells only to be given medication until a management plan was put in place.

“They have staffing problems and shortages but the main problem is it’s ridden with drugs,” Mr Fairhurst added.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said staff were on the wings on Friday morning after a “short meeting” with management.

The prison officer who was strangled received medical attention and is due to return to work on his next scheduled shift.

On Friday afternoon, a relative of one inmate told The Independent prisoners had not been let out of their cells even to shower.

"It’s ridiculous - I know they are in there to be punished but they have human rights," she added. "Food has been taken to cells with no choice of meals, just what they were given."

Prison officers walked out across England and Wales in September after the government was given an official warning over deteriorating safety, but the Ministry of Justice sought an injunction against the move after banning industrial action by jail staff last year.

The latest incident came a day after the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman warned that “extreme violence” was spreading from high-security prisons to low-security establishments.

HMP Lindholme itself is a category C prison that holds more than 1,000 male prisoners, mostly serving sentences of more than four years.

The most recent report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons found that the “safety of the prison was significantly compromised by the ready availability of drugs and the consequent debt, bullying and violence”.

It identified a key vulnerability as the three mile perimeter of the prison, which occupies a former RAF base and is surrounded by homes, fields, footpaths and other public rights of way.

Packages of drugs, banned mobile phones and other illicit items have been thrown over the perimeter fence, “fished” into cells by inmates using supplied hooks or even flown in using drones.

More than two thirds of prisoners told inspectors it was “easy or very easy” to get hold of drugs, and 27 per cent said they had developed a drug problem only after going inside.

The problem is exacerbated by the fact a fifth of prisoners have links to organised crime.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) said the perimeter was “difficult to defend”, adding: “When this is combined with the linkages of so many prisoners to organised crime and their obvious resourcefulness in getting large quantities of drugs into the jail, it means that further progress will be difficult to achieve.

“There is a question to be asked as to whether Lindholme is actually a suitable establishment in which to hold its current population.”

The government named it as one of 10 prisons with “acute problems” with high drug use, violence and building issues after announcing £10m funding to improve security.

Similar problems are found across the country, including at HMP Chelmsford where contraband worth more than £15,000 was seized in a single month.

The prison seized 28 drug packages and 44 mobile phones during searches, and 18 parcels that had been thrown over the perimeter wall during the period, HM Inspectorate of Prisons revealed in a report released on Friday.

“Other finds of mobile phone-related items, heroin, cocaine and other drugs were also discovered,” it added.

“The estimated value of the items seized during that month alone was more than £15,000."

The prison in South Yorkshire also holds a large number of men who were connected to organised crime gangs, and they were responsible for much of the supply of illicit items, according to the report.

HMIP said levels of violence at the jail were “far too high”, while the response to self-harm and suicide had been "inadequate".

Michael Spurr, chief executive of HM Prison and Probation Service, said there was a “committed team in place who will robustly tackle the issues”.

“We are working closely with the police and healthcare to tackle the supply and use of drugs and to reduce violence at the prison,” he added.

“Progress is being made and the problems are being actively addressed.”