UK prison inmates use unexpected item to attempt bonkers escape bid

HMP Winchester is so dilapidated inmates can chip away walls and windows with plastic cutley and attempt escape. The Category B men's prison has a rodent problem too, which pest control experts can't get on top of

A crumbling jail is so rundown that inmates have used plastic cutlery to chip away at old bricks to try and escape. In one remarkable attempt, a prisoner managed to remove a whole cell door.

Like in the film Escape from Alcatraz, they have used the flimsy tools to take out bricks and windows in 10 separate escape attempts. Officers at HMP Winchester, Hants, also have to work in a rat-infested control room as they try to monitor lags.

The rodent problem is so bad that officials saw one chew through a plastic bread wrapper and eat the loaf inside. A report by the Independent Monitoring Board warned the shocking state of the brickwork means escape from the Category B men’s prison is a major factor.

The Board said: “There have been at least 10 incidents of prisoners removing bricks and parts of window frames from cells, as well as one case of a prisoner removing a cell door. It is unsuitable for people to live in such conditions and the inadequate state of the fabric provides extra risk of escape.”

The board said the 178-year-old building is unfit for purpose. It added: “There are clear signs of dilapidation. This includes leaking roofs and ceilings, erratic heating and water systems, and degraded brickwork, which prisoners have been able to dig through using plastic cutlery. The control room remains infested with rats. Pest removers have attended but to no avail.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “The new government inherited a prison system in crisis and we are taking swift action to address concerns raised.”