Inmate dies after cell collapse

Gary Jones fell ill in his cell

A recently-convicted inmate, facing a lengthy prison sentence has died after collapsing in his cell.

Gary Jones, 20, from Killay in Swansea, south Wales, fell ill at Parc prison, Bridgend, at 0430 BST on Sunday.

He was pronounced dead at the Princess of Wales Hospital hours later.

Mr Jones was convicted last week of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm at Swansea Crown Court.

He slashed his victim across the face with a craft knife during an incident at the Killay shopping precinct in March.

Mr Jones had yet to be sentenced but the judge, Recorder Ian Murphy, warned that he faced a long custodial sentence.

Parc prison is privately owned

A Parc prison spokeswoman said staff gave Mr Jones first aid treatment while they waited for an ambulance to arrive.

She added: "The police and coroner and have been informed and a post mortem examination has been carried out.

"The man's next of kin have been informed and we would like to offer our sincere condolences to the family.

"At the moment what happened is a mystery, but like all deaths in custody there will be a coroner's inquest."

Bridgend and Glamorgan Valleys Coroner Phillip Walters has opened and adjourned an inquest into the death.

South Wales Police confirmed that they are not treating Mr Jones' death as suspicious.

New staff

Last month, Wales' only privately-owned prison employed 14 new staff after fears over prisoners' and staff safety.

It was criticised by Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers who said more staff were needed in order to "ensure that levels of safety are maintained at Parc" for both prisoners and staff.

A prison spokeswoman said at the time that this criticism had now been addressed with the creation of the 14 new prison staff posts.

The prison is owned by the Securicor group.

Costing £82m to build, the 800-inmate Parc Prison, has suffered a number of high-profile problems since it opened in 1997, including inmate suicides.

Parc was the first prison to be designed, constructed and managed under the government's private finance initiative, and was awarded a 25-year contract by HM Prison Service in 1995.

A Category B local prison, it houses remand and convicted male adults and incorporates a Young Offenders Institution for remand and convicted young offenders.