Kyle Batsford: Doncaster prisoner died after testing spice

Kyle Batsford died after he took the synthetic drug spice in September 2019

A prisoner died after he was forced to take batches of a synthetic drug to test its potency, an inquest has found.

Kyle Batsford was bullied into testing spice shortly before his death at HMP Lindholme, Doncaster Coroner's Court was told.

The 37-year-old father died when drug poisoning led to a brain injury in September 2019.

The coroner said he would prepare a report to try to prevent future deaths following concerns at the prison.

The jury heard how the drug was prevalent in the Category C prison in the months leading up to Mr Batsford's death.

Some prisoners encouraged vulnerable inmates to smoke the drug in increasing amounts for their own entertainment, assistant coroner Matthew Stanbury heard.

One prisoner, known as Inmate A, said he was aware of dealers handing out free spice to test its potency as the drug's effects were different in every batch.

Mr Batsford, from Northampton, was a known drug user and had debts with other prisoners on his wing, one prison staff member told the court.

He was found unresponsive in his cell on 23 September 2019 and died in hospital two days later.

HMP Lindholme is a Category C prison with 1,000 inmates

At Doncaster Coroner's Court on Thursday, the jury concluded prison staff did not do enough to disrupt gangs in the jail, but Mr Batsford's death was not preventable.

"The actions of other prisoners in the cell, providing articles, more than minimally contributed to Kyle's subsequent death," a jury spokesperson said.

'Game changer'

Giving evidence, governor Kelly Pearce described the synthetic drug as a "game changer" in prisons, where it was easy to bring in and use.

It was common to see prisoners under the influence of the drug across the estate, the court heard.

Mark Bowen, a former custodial manager at the jail, said: "I think it was a problem everywhere. There were times when we had every ambulance in the area dealing with people that were under the influence."

He added he was aware of one incident where two prisoners were naked on their hands and knees, with torn clothing or bed sheets tying them together like leads.

Other prisoners were stood in the cells laughing while the two behaved like dogs, under the influence of spice.

There would be parties in cells, involving alcohol and drugs, while some prisoners would be bullied into smoking spice and assaulted, an intelligence report from the prison said.

Mr Stanbury said he would be writing a prevention of future deaths report following the inquest.

"My areas of concern include the prevalence of OCG (organised crime group) nominals in the prison, and difficulties with the layout of the prison and managing them," he said.