Sex offender prison visitor plea

The new prison will house Category C sex offenders. Photograph: Mike Page

A prison chaplain has urged people in Norfolk to visit sex offenders at HMP Bure when it opens later this year.

The prison is being built on the former RAF base in Coltishall.

The prison will house 500 Category C sex offenders, with the first phase opening in November and the second in March 2010.

Rev Anne Hedges, who is setting up the multi-faith chaplaincy, said inmates often do not get visits from family for various reasons.

She said: "They (the prisoners) are still people. We are not there to judge."

She said people often volunteer to give something back to the community.

The prison will be made up of converted RAF buildings and some new buildings, all surrounded by a 17ft (5.2m) high security fence.