HMP Lowdham Grange: Report reveals more than 120 staff resigned

More than 120 staff resigned from a Nottinghamshire prison branded so unsafe the government had to take over the running of it, a report has said.

Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor said he and his team were "shocked" at "how bad things had got" at HMP Lowdham Grange.

About 600 litres of illicitly-brewed alcohol, or "hooch", was also recently seized.

The Prison Service said it had made improvements since taking over.

Levels of violence, incidents of self-harm and use of drugs continued to dominate at the category B prison, a report by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons said.

The situation at the Sodexo-run jail had become so concerning the Prison Service intervened in December, bringing in a new governor to improve safety and security.

It came after the jail - which holds up to 900 inmates - was found to be unsafe during an inspection by the prisons watchdog in May last year.

Inspectors reviewed the progress being made at the prison in January in the wake of its earlier findings.

The watchdog found five inmates had taken their own lives during 2023.

It also said that between February and December 2023, 127 members of staff had resigned, with more than half of these front-line prison officers, leaving the site short-staffed.

Inspectors said the prison had not made an "acceptable level of progress in a single one of the concerns" previously raised.

The report said "targeted searches" over Christmas led to about 600 litres of hooch being confiscated.

In the wake of the hooch confiscations, more than 30 prisoners had been "placed on report for allegations of possession of unauthorised items", but prison bosses told inspectors "not one adjudication had been dealt with in the specified timescales".

Inspectors also observed "frequent low-level poor behaviour", including inmates "vaping" and "openly defying staff authority".

The report suggested prison officers "did not always have the confidence to challenge prisoners" because of increased levels of violence directed towards them when they did.

The watchdog said overall, disciplinary procedures needed "urgent improvement".

Mr Taylor added: "It's unprecedented for the Prison Service to use their power to step in and take back control of a privately-run prison, so we knew Lowdham was struggling, but even so we were shocked by quite how bad things had got at the jail.

"The new governor and the existing director appeared to be working well together, however, and there was very early evidence that their combined actions since the step-in had begun to improve things."

A Prison Service spokesman said: "Since we stepped in to take over the running of the prison in mid-December, we've made swift improvements including supporting the prison with additional staff and we welcome the chief inspector's acknowledgement that this action has had a positive impact.

"We know there is still work to do which is why Lowdham Grange remains supported by an experienced public sector governor and we are continuing to review the situation."

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