Female prison officer who swapped love letters with burglar is jailed

A female prison officer has been jailed for four months for having a relationship with an inmate.

Cheryl Hindle, 44, swapped love letters with convicted burglar Dean Holmes, 30, while working at HMP Kirkham in Preston.

The pair also spent hours on the phone together as well as time together outside prison and discussed plans for their future.

It comes after an explicit viral video showing a Wandsworth prison officer having sex with an inmate in his cell proved to be the latest example in the growing trend of behind-bars relationships.

Hindle, of Sultan Street, Accrington, had been helping Holmes in her role to support and advise inmates on employment, education and careers opportunities upon their release.

But prison staff raised concerns after noticing that she was acting inappropriately towards Holmes, spending more time with him and also staying late for no legitimate reason.

Preston Crown Court previously heard how, in preparation for his release, Holmes was booked to take an employment-related exam at a test centre 20 miles from the prison in May 2022.

Hindle's manager asked her to arrange a driver but she took Holmes herself in her own vehicle.

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They travelled to the exam centre but analysis of Hindle's phone showed they later stopped at an address in Accrington for 90 minutes.

Due to concerns about inappropriate contact between the pair, Holmes was transferred to Lancaster Farms Prison but he added Holmes's personal number to a list of contacts he could call on the prison phone system, describing her as a 'friend'.

One of the calls showed that they had been together on a previous occasion, with Holmes telling Hindle that he liked the design of her mother's house.

Hindle told him that it would be 'their future house.'

Between May and June 2022, the pair made 25 calls totalling around four hours.

Hindle also visited Lancaster Farms without any legitimate reason and without authorisation, and Holmes got her to check his file on the prison computer system.

She was later suspended by HMP Kirkham and when her office was searched letters were found in which the pair expressed their love for each other.

Hindle admitted in police interview that she had 'made mistakes.' She said she wasn't thinking straight, was 'going through a lot' and was 'quite vulnerable.'

Hindle pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office and unauthorised access to computer material at an earlier hearing.

Holmes was jailed for three months after he admitted a charged of encouraging or assisting in the commission of an indictable-only offence.

Detective Chief Inspector Chris McClellan from the North-West Regional Organised Crime Unit said: 'We are robust in our efforts to tackle prison corruption, working closely with HMPPS to proactively pursue people who undermine and destabilise the prison regime.

'The overwhelming majority of prison staff carry out their duties to the highest standards, however the minority who do engage in inappropriate behaviour will be investigated and the appropriate action taken.'

'We want to urge prison staff to be aware of any warning signs and to report any type of inappropriate behaviour so that we can take action to bring them to justice.'