‘You cr** where you eat’: Grim state of UK prisons revealed as inmates crammed into cells for 23 hours a day
‘You don’t expect it to be amazing in prison, but some of the conditions were really bad,’ former inmate Stephen Trotter said
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Your support makes all the difference.Former inmates have revealed the “disgusting” conditions they are living under in some of the UK’s most overcrowded prisons as new figures show the crisis is nearing breaking point.
New figures show most prisons are now dangerously full with some holding 70 per cent more inmates than they should.
It comes as the chief inspector of prisons said this week that over one in ten jails should be closed down due to poor conditions and overcrowding – including Wandsworth, where ex-soldier Daniel Khalife is accused of escaping.
Former prisoner Stephen Trotter, 31 who left HMP Holme House just weeks ago, said he often shared a 6ft by 12ft cell with another inmate.
“You don’t expect it to be amazing in prison, but some of the conditions were really bad,” he said.
“Every room in your house is probably bigger. You could be in there for anything from 22 to 23 hours a day,” he said. “The toilet is in the same room, and there’s nothing to block it off. We used to say ‘you crap where you eat’ because you’re inches away from where you take your meals. Two lads, with your toilet, your sink, and your food in there for weeks or months speaks for itself.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by Chris, 37, who found himself in the unique position of being both a prison officer and then inmate after he was sentenced for helping bring phones into prisons. He was released from HMP Rochester four months ago and spent time in HMP Lewis while on remand.
“There was no space to sit anywhere but our bunk beds. There was a desk in there but no space to sit on it or use it. Our toilet was in the shower in our cell, so you have to make sure you don’t turn the shower on when you’re using it. You just take a shower while you’re on it,” he said.
“We’re men. We fart, we poo, the smell is absolutely awful. There’s no privacy at all. You can’t speak to your family, you’re conscious of your inmate and if they’re not sleeping you can’t sleep and vice versa.”
Prison leavers also reported a lack of showers. Mr Trotter said there were often just four showers to share between 80 to 90 men, while Chris, who didn’t want his surname used, reported a similar scenario with 150 inmates sharing five showers.
The shortage was due to few working facilities and delayed repairs, according to Mr Trotter and Chris. They report problems with no running water and toilets not flushing in their cells, leaving unbearable smells.
“You have to stock up on toilet roll. I know someone who asked for some toilet roll and the prison guard told them ‘use your hand or a sock,’” said Chris.
Mr Trotter said inmates were discouraged from complaining for fear of being “twisted up”, a term used to describe “reasonable force” used by prison guards for restraint.
One prison officer, who didn’t want to be named, is employed at HMP Forest Bank which reports some of the worst overcrowding. He said the use of reasonable force was a last resort for officers who are struggling with chronic under-staffing.
“It’s a bad situation for both inmates and officers,” he said. “We’re often told to run entire wings on our own with no supervision. We’re often unlocking cells for fifteen or so inmates on our own. Do I feel safe working there? Absolutely not.”
He said contraband being smuggled into prison was being overlooked because “no one has time to do the paperwork and there’s no room in segregation”.
The officer said staff felt there were no protections for officers working in overcrowded conditions and threats from inmates weren’t taken seriously. He said there had been attempts of arson and attacks on staff leaving the prison as part of vengeance by disgruntled families and friends.
However, Chris, who served as a prison guard in HMP Winchester said he often reported instances of excessive force and worrying comments by staff. “One guy told me ‘I only joined because I wanted to hurt people,’ he ended up breaking someone’s arm and was bragging about it at the pub later.”
Vulnerable prisoners in HMP Rochester were also experiencing poor conditions with Chris reporting that one 82-year-old inmate with a colostomy bag was having to reuse his bag for two days as there was no replacement.
“It’s so disgusting in there, it’s disgusting. This man didn’t even have clothes so I had to give him some of mine,” said Chris.
The situation is often not any better at youth offenders institutes, as Mr Farhad Miah, 27, reports through a phone call with his family while at HMP Swinfen Hall. Miah, who has been held at the prison which also houses convicted teens for the past 18 months, said guards talked to him “like s**t,” and that the state of his cell was “grim”.
He said: “I’ve had belongings stolen. When I tried to get them back, I was stabbed in the shoulder with a prison-made shank.” Miah, who is from Burnley in Lancashire, said he was being housed far away from his family and has not seen them since he was sentenced last year. He was supposed to be moved to a jail closer to home but said people were being held on induction wings longer due to overcrowding.
“People are just stuck,” he said, “So people like me aren’t able to be closer to see their family. I feel like I’m losing that connection with them because of no face-to-face visit. I have two kids. My son was born shortly before I came in here.”
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Justice reported that the number of prison deaths, suicide, self-harm and serious assaults on inmates and prison staff had all increased, with campaigners warning the situation was being exaserbated by cramped conditions.
The MoJ said it was pressing ahead with the biggest expansion of prison places in over a century – delivering 20,000 additional spaces including six new jails.
“Around 5,500 new places have already been delivered including HMP Fosse Way and we’ve created short-term capacity by doubling up cells where it is safe to do so and delaying non-urgent maintenance work,” it said.