Drone with drugs and phones found outside prison

A man has been jailed after a drone used to smuggle drugs and phones crashed outside a prison.

Simon Woodall's DNA was on cargo from the crashed drone, which was found in 2023 by a dog handler patrolling HMP Whitemoor in March, Cambridgeshire.

Police said Woodall was arrested the following year when he was seen acting suspiciously outside another prison in Hertfordshire.

The 32-year-old, of Yorke Avenue, Brierley Hill, West Midlands, admitted two counts of conspiring to convey prohibited items into a prison, and he was jailed for two years and six months.

Police said the package of goods worth more than £200,000 was found on 13 November 2023.

A vehicle linked to Woodall seen in the area was scrapped following the incident.

Officers said the attempt followed an incident in August 2023 when a driver was stopped by police on the A1, near Catterick, North Yorkshire.

He had the address for HMP Durham in a sat nav, a drone in the back of the vehicle and a package containing cannabis, tobacco and steroids.

Woodall's fingerprints were found on the drone and a phone number linked to him in the man's contacts list, police said.

At 04:00 GMT on 12 February last year, police received a call from HMP The Mount, near Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, when CCTV operators saw Woodall acting suspiciously in nearby woods.

When officers arrived, he tried to dispose of his phone and was arrested.

Woodall was sentenced at Peterborough Crown Court on Monday.

Det Con Tom Adams said: "We're working hard with prison staff to tackle the issue of smuggling, and we take the matter extremely seriously.

"This was a large package containing drugs and mobile phones that could have caused significant issues within the prison and been used in criminality.

"I'm pleased the attempt was unsuccessful and Woodall has now found himself behind bars."

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