Channings Wood prison bans sugar after 'hooch' found in cells

Prison chiefs found stashes of hooch in inmates cells, which is made by mixing fruit and a form of yeast and letting it ferment

Sugar has been banned from a prison after guards found stashes of illicit alcohol in inmates' cells.

An annual report from the Independent Monitoring Board said "hooch" was found at Channings Wood prison near Newton Abbot, Devon, throughout the year.

Hooch is made by mixing sugar and any form of natural yeast, usually fruit or bread, and letting it ferment for up to a week.

The prison has banned sugar from the canteen since June 2021.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: "Illicitly brewed alcohol fuels violence and crime in prisons which is why we are cracking down on it."

Channings Wood is a category C training and resettlement prison housing more than 700 inmates.

The annual report for September 2020 to August 2021 said: "Illicit alcohol (hooch) was found to be present within the establishment for periods of the year and this has resulted in the intermittent removal of sugar from the canteen since June."