Inmates 'planning another riot'
Prison officials are investigating claims that more disturbances are being planned by inmates at Stoke Heath Young Offenders Institution. Prison officials are investigating claims that more disturbances are being planned by inmates at Stoke Heath Young Offenders Institution. Staff at the institution, near Market Drayton, have been ordered to take special measures after allegations were made by inmates at a Birmingham jail that another prison riot was being planned. The claims come just weeks after a six-hour riot at the jail left two staff members needing hospital treatment and caused thousands of pounds of damage to one of the unit's wings. Read the full story in today's Shropshire Star
The claims come just weeks after a six-hour riot at the jail left two staff members needing hospital treatment and caused thousands of pounds of damage to one of the unit's wings.
The inmates at HMP Birmingham, in Winson Green, claim to have knowledge of the future disturbances being planned at Stoke Heath.
Teresa Clarke, governor at Stoke Heath YOI said the allegations were being taken very seriously.
She said the threat of another disturbance was being assessed, and officers at Stoke Heath and Winson Green were working together to take action.
A prison service spokesperson confirmed that investigations into the claims made by prisoners were under way.
"Any intelligence received relating to the security or good order of the establishment will be assessed and acted upon appropriately in order to prevent disturbances or any other illegal or any other dangerous activity by prisoners," she said.
The jail has a history of disturbances, with two inmates taking to the roof for more than four hours in March and May this year, forcing staff to call in specialist negotiators.
The prison also experienced a similar riot on October 1 last year, which saw more than 30 inmates running amok for more than nine hours. The incident caused hundreds of thousands of pounds damage to the institution.
The unit has also come under criticism from a chief prison inspector's report in September this year.
The report claimed the institution was failing to meet standards in most criteria, and inmates were locked up for too long each day in poor conditions with little "purposeful activity".
By Abigail Bates