Prison with blood-stained cell and scratched walls is ‘worst ever seen’ by inspector

Mentally ill women are being held in “appalling” conditions in a prison where some cells are bloodstained and others have “extensively scratched” walls, a watchdog has warned.

The “terrible conditions” were described as the “worst he had seen” by one experienced inspector who visited HMP Eastwood Park, South Gloucestershire in October last year. Three women died at the prison in 2022 and inspectors found that rates of self-harm had increased by 128 per cent since their last inspection in 2019.

Staff used force on prisoners 395 times in the past year - a 75 per cent increase since the previous inspection. The prisons watchdog raised serious concerns about one part of the prison, called house block 4, where women with severe mental health needs were “effectively segregated”.