Prisoners are getting takeaways and weapons flown in via drones after bars on cell windows have broken and not been replaced, former guards have claimed.
Criminal gangs are using ‘sophisticated’ drones to drop enough drugs to ‘destabilise’ jails, a scathing new report has revealed.
And it is not just drugs – anything from McDonalds orders to knives are being physically flown in to prisoners because ‘no one has fixed cell bars’.
Sam Samworth, a former guard at HMP Manchester, told Metro: ‘When I worked at the prison, there were bars and mesh cages on every single one.
‘But now, loads have been broken and not replaced, so drones are able to fly straight up to the windows.’
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It not even entirely clear just how much this is happening, as most of the drop offs happen at night while the jail is less staffed.
A former officer at HMP Frankland, which houses one of the most secure wings in the country, told Metro: ‘I walked in to cells before to find prisoners surrounded by McDonalds wrappers which they could only have got via drone.
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‘Most of the time we never saw them fly near. They are so quiet and so small, and they always did it at night under the cover of darkness.’
But the fear is high risk prisoners such as terrorists are able to access this lucrative network and bring more sophisticated and deadly weapons to ‘hurt or kill as many people as possible’.
In May, a 25-year-old prison officer was stabbed at Long Lartin and had to undergo emergency surgery after a weapon was flown in via drone.
A current prison officer, who is friends with the victim, said colleagues ‘had to put his insides back into his body’ before the ambulance arrived.
He told Metro: ‘Some prisoners want to martyr themselves. One day, someone will be able to bring a bomb in.
‘But it seems no one is doing anything about it. There are only signs on the walls saying “do not fly drones here” – it’s ridiculous.’
Sam said: ‘Prisoners are already flying knives in, what’s to stop a terrorist from getting their hands on a gun?
‘Most inmates know that if they are caught with a gun inside jail walls their lives will be over. But serious criminals who don’t care about their own release and only want to hurt or kill people can do serious damage with one.’
He explained there is ‘a lot of money to be made’ sneaking contraband in via drone.
He said: ‘Just one rizla paper in prison is worth £1. Can you imagine how much you will be paid for sneaking a weapon in?’
Chief Prison Inspector Charlie Taylor said: ‘It is highly alarming that the police and prison service have, in effect ceded the airspace above two high-security prisons to organised crime gangs which are able to deliver contraband to jails holding extremely dangerous prisoners including some who have been designated as high-risk category A.’
He told Sky News there is also a ‘theoretical risk’ a prisoner could escape by being carried out of a jail by a drone.
Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, Lord Timpson, said: ‘This report shows the scale of the crisis we inherited and the unacceptable pressures faced by our hardworking staff – with prisons dangerously full, rife with drugs and violence.
‘We are ending this chaos. After just 500 prison places added in 14 years, we’re building 14,000 extra – with 2,400 already delivered – and reforming sentencing to ensure we never run out of space again. We’re also improving prisons so they cut crime, not create better criminals.
Attacks on prison staff rising due to staffing shortages, officers claim
In the year ending September 2024, there were 29,881 assaults inside prison walls.
More than 10,000 of these were against staff members, according to the Ministry of Justice.
Budget cuts has caused deteriorating behaviour and well trained staff leaving, the former officers have claimed, Sam Samworth, a former guard at HMP Manchester, said.
He told Metro: ‘When I first started there was a regular regime and prisoners were out most of the day, but from 2015, it was an absolute car crash.
‘But prisoners are now running the jails, there is no discipline, and they are spending way too much time locked up in their cell.
‘It is just part of a pipeline which is leading to bigger problems.’
‘We’re also investing £40 million to bolster security, alongside stepping up cooperation with police to combat drones and stop the contraband which fuels violence behind bars.’
It comes as attacks on prison staff rose, with 29,881 assaults inside prison walls in the year ending September 2024.
More than 10,000 of these were against staff members, according to the Ministry of Justice.
In April, HMP Frankland saw brother of the Manchester Arena bomber Hashem Abedi, 28, douse officers in hot oil.
One officer suffered third degree burns while two others were stabbed and needed emergency surgery.
HMP Manchester, also known as Strangeways, is home to some the ‘most dangerous men in the country’ receives ‘regular drop offs’, and has done ever since maintenance was privatised during austerity.
In December, MP Kim Johnson asked the government to ‘call time on the failed experiment and bring prison maintenance back in house where it belongs’.
She said there were £1.8 billion in unreported repair costs leading to poor working conditions inside jails – and said privatisation has lead to the rising costs, meaning jailers are struggling to afford to replace them.
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