Inmates at open jail with highest drug use 'bored'

Inmates at an open prison in Lancashire, which has the highest drug use of any in the country, have told inspectors they are "frustrated and bored".

During an unannounced inspection of HMP Kirkham in September inspectors said they "frequently smelt cannabis as they walked around".

Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor said they found "illicit drugs were far too freely available" with 25% of mandatory drug tests on inmates testing positive.

Mr Taylor said the Category D prison was "addressing" some of its longstanding issues.

The government said it had a "zero tolerance" approach towards drugs.

The prison held 672 prisoners at the time of inspection.

Inspectors found that far too few prisoners were given the chance to work and inmates said they were "bored" and had little to fill their time and many were using drugs.

'System in crisis'

The report said the outcomes for prisoners at HMP Kirkham were "reasonably good" for safety but "not sufficiently good" for respect, purposeful activity or preparation for release.

Mr Taylor said: "The new, acting governor had only been in post for a few weeks when we inspected Kirkham, but she already had a good grasp of the many challenges faced by the jail and was beginning to address some of the longstanding issues."

A Ministry of Justice statement said: "The new government inherited a prison system in crisis and reports like these demonstrate the need for robust action to get the situation back under control.

"We have zero tolerance towards drugs and will continue the hard work of ensuring prisons like HMP Kirkham become places where offenders can turn their backs on crime for good."

It comes as the government announced plans to tackle overcrowding in prisons, pledging to have 14,000 more prison places in England and Wales by 2031.

It involves building four new prisons, adding new blocks to existing prisons and opening temporary cells.

Earlier this month, the deputy prime minister gave the green light for a so-called super prison in Chorley, Lancashire, three years after the local council rejected the application.