Erlestoke Prison: Volunteers needed for visitor transport

Ursula uses the The Friends of Erlestoke Prison transport scheme to ensure she gets to the prison on time

More help is needed to get the relatives of prisoners in rural jails to see them, a charity has said.

Since 2014 people living close to Wiltshire's Erlestoke Prison have transported visitors from Westbury Train Station or the bus stops in Devizes to the prison.

In the pandemic visits stopped but they have resumed, meaning more drivers are needed.

Ursula, from Swindon, who uses the scheme said it is "wonderful".

The scheme is run by The Friends of Erlestoke Prison and Ursula said she knows only too well how hard it can be getting to Erlestoke Prison on public transport.

"There is panic, I'm panic stricken, in case I am late and won't be able to visit," she said.

"There is a bus service, but the times don't coincide [with visiting times]."

Rhona Atterton lives near the prison and picks up Ursula for her visit

But as part of the transport scheme, a volunteer driver is able to pick her up and take Ursula direct to the prison.

"To be able to get here on time, see my son, without all the stress, it is wonderful," she said.

"The visiting time goes very quick anyway, so you want to make the most of what time you've got."

Rhona Atterton lives near the prison and started volunteering as a driver for The Friends of Erlestoke Prison three years ago.

She said: "I think what I have really discovered is how important these visits are, not just for the prisoners, but also for their families," she said.

HMP Erlestoke is in a rural location in Wiltshire making it hard to get to by public transport

Before the first lockdown there were up to 156 visits every week at HMP Erelstoke.

More than 10% of visitors arrived and left thanks to volunteer drivers, but then the pandemic struck, and visits stopped.

They have gradually restarted, but the number of volunteer drivers has gone down from 35 to 24.

Paula Harriott, from the Prison Reform Trust, said schemes like these are important because they connect families to people in prison, helping reintegration back into the community.

She said: "Many people have to travel 50, 100, 100's of miles on public transport to visit a prisoner and if we want people to come to the prison, not stressed out, exhausted, but ready to be able to give support to that prisoner, these things can just really help.

"It really is in everybody's best interest to support family visits as best we can."

Eve McBride coordinates the Friends of Erlestoke Prison transport scheme

The Friends of Erlestoke Prison transport scheme is now hoping more volunteers will come forward.

Transport coordinator for the charity, Eve McBride, said: "A lot of people are impoverished, they have to travel great distances to come and visit their loved ones in the prison and so we just want to make that as easy as possible for them."

"We know that visiting, keeping them close to their loved ones while they are serving their sentence, enhances rehabilitation, and it reduced the risk of reoffending on release, that is where are heart lies, that is why we are doing this work."