HMP Kirklevington abuse inquiry: More than 350 ex-inmates claim abuse

Former inmate Andrew Drabarek said he was regularly beaten

More than 350 ex-inmates at a detention centre have come forward to say they were abused, police have said.

Most of the men - formerly teenagers at HMP Kirklevington, near Yarm - have alleged they were physically abused and some sexually assaulted.

They allege the abuse took place between the 1960s and 1990s when the prison was a mixed remand centre.

Police said two men, aged 62 and 71, arrested in connection with the inquiry had been released under investigation.

Kirklevington was converted into a resettlement prison for adult male offenders in 1992

A spokesman for the Cleveland force said the investigation, which began in 2016, was "complex and extensive".

He said help and support was being offered to those who had come forward.

One of the complainants, Andrew Drabarek, who was an inmate as a teenager, said he was regularly beaten.

He said: "You accept punishment, but not like that - being beaten by a grown man when you are a teenager is something else."

The Ministry of Justice has urged anyone with allegations to report them to police.

Kirklevington was converted to a resettlement prison for adult male offenders in 1992.