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| HMP The Mount: Second day of trouble at Hertfordshire prison | HMP The Mount: Second day of trouble at Hertfordshire prison |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A second successive day of trouble has erupted at HMP The Mount in Hertfordshire. | A second successive day of trouble has erupted at HMP The Mount in Hertfordshire. |
| BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said armed prisoners had taken over Nash Wing and smashed windows, according to well-placed sources. | BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said armed prisoners had taken over Nash Wing and smashed windows, according to well-placed sources. |
| Riot-trained teams are being despatched to the jail in Bovingdon village. | Riot-trained teams are being despatched to the jail in Bovingdon village. |
| The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said the incident was ongoing. A separate disturbance has also been dealt with at Erlestoke prison in Wiltshire, it said. | The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said the incident was ongoing. A separate disturbance has also been dealt with at Erlestoke prison in Wiltshire, it said. |
| 'No risk to public' | |
| Live: Latest updates as trouble reported at HMP The Mount | Live: Latest updates as trouble reported at HMP The Mount |
| A MoJ spokesperson said: "Specially trained prison staff have been deployed to HMP The Mount to resolve an incident involving a number of prisoners. | |
| "The situation at the prison remains contained and there is no risk to the public." | |
| On Monday at least 50 cells are thought to have been damaged when violence broke out in two wings at The Mount. No-one was injured on that occasion. | On Monday at least 50 cells are thought to have been damaged when violence broke out in two wings at The Mount. No-one was injured on that occasion. |
| A Hertfordshire Constabulary spokesperson said: "Following [Monday's] incident we are working with the Ministry of Justice and are currently reviewing what, if any offences, have occurred." | |
| The Mount, near Hemel Hempstead, opened in 1987 and is classed as a category C male prison. Nash wing is believed to hold between 200 and 250 inmates serving short sentences or with only three months left to serve of their sentence. | |
| HMP Erlestoke is also a category C men's prison, which the Prison Reform Trust describes as one where "prison staff think [inmates] will not escape", while acknowledging they "cannot be trusted in an open prison". | |
| Last week the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) published its annual report into Erlestoke, and said that the smuggling of tobacco, which has been banned by the prison, had contributed to bullying. | |
| Drugs 'readily available' | Drugs 'readily available' |
| Before the violence broke out on Monday, the IMB also published its annual review into conditions at The Mount and said it had "struggled" with staff shortages. | |
| There were 24 vacancies out of a total of 136 officers in February, it added. | There were 24 vacancies out of a total of 136 officers in February, it added. |
| It also claimed violence "grew considerably" throughout the year and that drugs were readily available, in particular the synthetic cannabis substitute spice. | It also claimed violence "grew considerably" throughout the year and that drugs were readily available, in particular the synthetic cannabis substitute spice. |
| The report said concerns raised last year had not been addressed by the MoJ. | The report said concerns raised last year had not been addressed by the MoJ. |
| Do you have any information about the disturbances at HMP The Mount or Erlestoke prison? E-mail us at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk | |
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