Inside ‘mayhem’ UK jail the place 10 lags died in 3 months – ‘zombie’ drug to riots

A troubled British prison was the scene of further chaos in recent days after a 20-man brawl erupted – before three lags were rushed to hospital after the riot.

An air ambulance was even called to the spice-plagued nick but was later stood down after it was concluded the injured men were not in “life-threatening” situations.

But this was just the latest ominous incident at HMP Parc in Bridgend, Wales, where there have been 10 deaths in three months. Below we take a closer look inside the bedlam jail.

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HMP Parc History

The jail is a privately-run category B prison for men and young offenders that can house up to 1700 inmates.

HMP Parc, operated by security company G4S, opened in South Wales in 1997 but there was problems from the start – with four suicides happening within the first 18 months.

Anti-English sentiment was also reported with racist graffiti being “unchallenged” in cells, according to a report by the Chief Inspector of Prisons in 1999.

In it, then prison director Bob Dixon said: “What we have are a large number of particularly young offenders who, unfortunately, come from an area where racism, almost tribalism, is endemic.”

Deaths

Despite the initial teething problems, there has arguably never been a more challenging time for the prison bosses than today.

That’s because Warren Manners, 38, recently became the tenth inmate to die there since February 27.

A pair of inmates even died within minutes of each other on May 7 in unrelated incidents – Michael Horton, 19, and convicted murderer, David Maggs, 73.

At least four of the deaths are believed to be drug related and last month families of dead inmates protested outside the prison.

One poster simply read “stop the drugs” while another banner had the words: “Dogs, drones in every yard to stop the drugs.”

And one man who was there told the BBC how his best mate, Cameron Lee Anthony, died after taking drugs. He said: “[I’m] upset, hurt. I’ve lost my best friend. He said the wings were mayhem. Flooded with drugs.”

In the same month as the protests, a prison staff member was arrested in connection with drug dealing inside HMP Parc.

The 36-year-old man was bailed and a spokesperson for the jail said he was arrested after a “joint operation” with police.

They added: “We expect the highest standards of conduct from our employees, and if we suspect any form of wrongdoing, we will take swift action.”

But it was not just heavy drug misuse that was an issue, and last month we reported how one prisoner voiced sexual assault concerns to a guard who replied: “We’ve lost control here. We don’t control the prison – you f***ers do.”

It was also reported that a lag was giving sexual favours in the shower for spice while an ex-worker told WalesOnline how officers were “being paid to bring in contraband items”.

‘Zombie’ drug

An autopsy on four prisoners who died inside the prison concluded that they had taken a lethal drug 500 times more powerful than heroin. Detective Steve Jones of South Wales Police confirmed “nitazene-based substances” was identified in the bodies.

The South West Police force said another synthetic drug called spice, also known as the “zombie drug”, had been found in two of the four deaths.

And in a plea to prisoners dealing or using drugs, Adrian Usher, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, said in March: “We urge all prisoners who are in possession of spice to dispose of it immediately. This is a dangerous drug and we do not want to see any more unnecessary deaths occur.”

Spice, a Class B substance designed to mimic cannabis, can leave users contorted in unnatural positions for hours while police say it can cause people to be violent while “sometimes they appear in a comatose state”.

The spate of deaths has led to demands for G4S to be stripped of its £400million contract while two Labour MPs, Beth Winter and Chris Elmore, called for the government to take over its control.

And acknowledging the recent deaths, a HMP Parc spokesperson said: “We extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of those who have died recently at Parc.

“As with all deaths in custody, these are being investigated by the prisons and probation ombudsman. We have a zero-tolerance policy towards drugs and use a range of tactics to tackle the ingress of drugs and reduce demand.”

Famous inmates

Ian Watkins, a former singer for Lostprophets, is now serving a 29-year sentence for child sex offenders – but while on remand he stayed in HMP Parc.

The prison is one of the largest category Bs and is home to convicted sex offenders and suspected sex offenders awaiting trial.

Former Welsh international footballer Mark Aizlewood meanwhile served there after he was jailed for his part in a football apprenticeship fraud.

But rather than turn to drugs, Mark, who currently manages Carmarthen Town, ran fitness programmes inside the facility while helping prisoners who were suicidal.

Speaking to WalesOnline about his time in HMP Parc, he said he taught people about diet and nutrition and how to keep fit.

He described the best solution being exercise and added: “I was an alcoholic, I know how it feels. I haven’t had a drink since 2005. It’s easy for me to talk about that but some people are in the middle of their crisis.

“I did a course inside and became a Samaritans trained listener in jail. Anyone who is feeling suicidal could call and you would go to their cell and you would talk through the problems with them. It was another element of what I did to make my time worthwhile.”

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