HMP Altcourse seizes vodka wrapped as Christmas presents

HMP Altcourse said the bottles were intact when they were seized by guards

A "brazen" attempt to smuggle two bottles of vodka wrapped as Christmas presents into a Liverpool prison has been thwarted.

The bottles were thrown over the walls at HMP Altcourse, Fazakerley.

HMP Altcourse said the bottles were intact when they were seized by guards.

The prison was put on lockdown in August after two lock knives were found in packages thrown over the walls. Drugs were also found alongside the identical knives.

Steve Williams, director of the category B prison, said: "Like every prison, it's a constant challenge to keep contraband from coming into HMP Altcourse.

Prison staff used a "cherry picker" crane to remove packages of drugs and mobile phones which had become trapped on the roof last year.

Earlier this year the BBC revealed the number of times banned items were thrown in to prisons in England and Wales had more than doubled in the last two years.

More than 2,000 banned items, including drugs and mobile phones, were thrown in to prisons last year.