Dartmoor cells crisis grows

Some single cells are being occupied by two people

There are new concerns about overcrowding at Dartmoor Prison.

The prison's board of visitors has said it is worried about the number of cells designed for one person that are being occupied by two.

The board raises the concerns in its latest annual report.

The Prison Service has said that any overcrowding was "regrettable".

Jail protest

Dartmoor is supposed to have a capacity of some 650 inmates, but is currently holding about 690 prisoners.

The board of visitors has said there are 21 cells in the jail which were built for individual prisoners, but are being lived in by two.

Last week, there was a near riot at the jail when about 40 inmates refused to return to their cells.

No damage was caused and no-one was injured in the incident.

Reform demands

But the Prison Officer's Association suggested overcrowding was one reason for the disturbance.

The Prison Service said the overcrowding was "regrettable".

Three quarters of all prisoners in England and Wales are in overcrowded cells, said prisons watchdog the Howard League for Penal Reform in a report earlier this year.

To ease conditions the prison reform group wants the Government to decide a statutory limit on the number of people imprisoned.

Martin Narey, the director general of the Prison Service, has said he took overcrowding very seriously.

He also said overcrowding at Dartmoor posed a serious challenge for the Prison Service, but it had not threatened security.