Thirteen men sentenced over riot at Lichfield prison

Swinfen Hall Prison is a category C jail that holds more than 600 male prisoners aged between 18-25

Thirteen men have been sentenced for their part in a mass prison disorder.

Violence erupted at HMP and YOI Swinfen Hall in Lichfield on 6 August 2018, spreading to multiple wings after a single prisoner was attacked.

A piece of plastic cutlery was turned into an improvised weapon, police said, injuring several prisoners. Two prison officers were also hurt.

The men pleaded guilty to violent disorder at Stafford Crown Court and were sentenced on Friday.

Staffordshire Police said the violence started when one inmate assaulted a fellow prisoner in an exercise yard.

It then erupted into a large disorder, Staffordshire Police said, and due to the number of prisoners involved, officers from another wing had to be called to help.

This led to a number of other prisoners arriving from the other wing, adding to the disorder.

"Prison officers were put under immense pressure to bring the disorder to an end," Det Sgt Ian Whitehouse, from Staffordshire Police, said.

Twelve of the defendants admitted violent disorder while the thirteenth was convicted of the same offence. The worst offenders were jailed for up to two years, to run concurrent to their existing sentences.