Inmate was 'let down by prison', inquest told

Anthony Binfield arrived at HMP Lowdham Grange in August 2021

An imate was repeatedly "ignored" by the prison system before he was found dead in his cell, an inquest heard.

Anthony Binfield, 30, died at HMP Lowdham Grange on 6 March 2023, the first of three deaths of inmates in the weeks after the prison was taken over by private provider Sodexo.

An inquest at Nottingham Coroner's Court on Tuesday heard he had been "found under the influence of drugs a number of times in prison".

Lynda Hurren, Binfield's aunt, said he had been trying to get moved to a different prison to escape bullying by other inmates.

Binfield had been in a number of prisons throughout his adult life, and Ms Hurren told the court he had "experienced lots of problems with bullying", some of which related to debts and drug use.

She said she frequently contacted prisons to find him support but felt he did not get the help he needed, adding all the different jails "should have known" he was at risk of bullying and self-harm.

'Prison didn't care'

Binfield arrived at Lowdham Grange on 24 August 2021, and Ms Hurren said she initially supported the move, having read of prisoner support programmes being run at the Category B jail.

"I read that it was a private prison, which I thought meant that it would have more money," she said.

"Soon after Anthony arrived, [the situation] deteriorated... it seemed to me like the prison couldn't cope with him, and often didn't care."

His previous debts followed him to prison, she told the court, and he continued to have problems with bullying.

"At times, Anthony tried to get help for himself, but he often felt that he wasn't given the help that he needed and he was [being] let down," she said.

Binfield had a short spell at another jail from 23 September 2022 to be nearer family, but, due to Covid and other health issues, Ms Hurren said she was unable to see him in person.

He returned to Lowdham Grange in November, and asked to be re-categorised as a Category C prisoner so he could move to a different jail, but Ms Hurren said his request was refused.

He was "devastated" by the news, she added, and his mental health "deteriorated the most" at this point.

The Category B jail has been heavily criticised in numerous reports

Ms Hurren said she learned of his death on 7 March when a family liaison officer from Sodexo, which took over the prison from Serco on 16 February in the first transfer of a jail between private providers.

She said the liaison officer told the family Binfield had not left a note, but in January she learned through a report he had in fact left a message to his family, which also included funeral requests.

A redacted copy of the note has been issued to her solicitors, she said.

Ms Hurren said she "felt like I was ignored" by Lowdham Grange when seeking help for her nephew, and was "so sad" to learn of the deaths of two other men - David Richards on 13 March and Rolandas Karbauskas on 25 March - weeks afterwards.

'Rife' Spice use

The court heard a post-mortem examination found Binfield died from hanging, and two strains of synthetic cannabinoids were found in his blood following a toxicology examination.

Stephen Morley, a consultant chemical pathologist, said the difficulties in detecting Spice due to the constantly changing nature of the chemicals meant he could not say how much Binfield had ingested or when he did so, but said he may have been under the influence of the drug when he died.

While Spice can be fatal, Dr Morley said he did not believe it directly affected Binfield's death.

He also said use of synthetic cannabinoids was "quite rife in the prison system" across the country, where it could be smoked, vaped or ingested as a liquid.

The inquest - which is jointly looking into the deaths of Binfield, Karbauskas and Richards - continues.