London’s Burning paedophile John Alford was found dead in a jail where sex attackers are at risk of abuse from each other, according to an official report.
A lack of CCTV cameras inside HMP Bure meant ‘vulnerable prisoners’ were in danger of ‘intimidation and bullying’ and ‘sexual assaults from their peers’, according to prison inspectors.
Alford, 54, who also starred in Grange Hill, was found dead in his cell at the Norfolk jail which houses up to 643 sex offenders. It happened two months after he was jailed for sexually assaulting two teen girls – crimes he insisted he had not committed.
The actor – whose real name was John Shannon – was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years after being found guilty of targeting the girls aged 14 and 15.
The most recent report by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons – following an unannounced visit in 2023 – said: “There was no CCTV in accommodation and activity areas which affected prisoners’ feelings of safety and hindered investigations into alleged assaults.”
It went on: “Some prisoners told us that intimidation and bullying were increasing as a result of drug use and debt. There had also been an increase in allegations from prisoners about sexual assaults from their peers.
“Prisoner accommodation and activity areas lacked CCTV, which heightened the concerns of the more vulnerable prisoners and made it more difficult for the safety team to evidence the validity of allegations relating to sexual assault.
“Leaders responsible for safety were aware of these concerns, and robust action was taken to investigate all allegations and provide support for victims.”
It added: “Most staff carried body-worn video cameras but in many cases they did not activate them until very late into the incident, undermining their purpose as a deterrent.”
The report said there had been 21 in-jail deaths since the last inspection in 2017 – 19 were due to natural causes and two were self-inflicted. It said the jail’s self-harm rate was ‘on a downwards trajectory’ but 65% of 312 incidents in the previous year related to seven prisoners.
Alford’s cause of death has not been revealed. Sources said he was found ‘unresponsive’ in bed. The actor played school rebel Robbie Wright in BBC Children’s series Grange Hill for four years from 1985.
He joined the cast of ITV drama London’s Burning as firefighter Billy Ray in 1993 and three years later launched a pop career.
But he was sacked from the show and jailed for nine months after being convicted of supplying cocaine and cannabis to an undercover News Of The World journalist in 1997.
A Prison Service spokesman said an investigation into his death was underway.