'Pervert' hostel claim denied

Parc prison supports plans for a hostel

Officials at a south Wales prison have rejected reports that a proposed hostel for ex-offenders will allow "perverts to roam free".

Parc Prison said it supports Home Office plans for a hostel for ex-offenders to be built in the grounds of the jail on the outskirts of Bridgend.

The Home Office announced plans for a hostel at the privately-run prison to house three categories of offenders - people at the end of their prison sentence; for somebody on community service who has a condition of residence; and for offenders who are electronically tagged.

Prison director Roy Walford said the principle of having a hostel by the prison was to provide proper surveillance.

"There has to be a hostel in the area and our argument is that it is better off in the grounds of a prison rather than in the middle of a residential area."

Parc Prison has already held one public meeting and a second is planned in two weeks in the nearby village of Coity.

A prison spokeswoman said that offenders staying in the hostel would be free to come and go.

Backing: The hostel plans are backed by the prison

But she made it clear that all those housed there would be low-risk - and there would not be any high-risk sex offenders or paedophiles.

It is possible, she added, that low-risk sex offenders could be housed there.

The spokeswoman also said that the Home Office had identified the area as in need of such a facility, with similar hostels already operating at Cardiff and Swansea.

Any person considered for a place at the hostel would first have to undergo a stringent Home Office assessment.