Heating failure forces prison to order coats and blankets

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 21 Oct, 05:20 · Archive

HMP Wandsworth ordered 1,500 coats and 1,000 blankets after a heating system failure in November.

A heating and hot water system failure at HMP Wandsworth in south-west London in November became so critical that it was officially recorded as a 'loss of service', according to a new Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) report. Prison management ordered 1,500 additional coats, 1,000 blankets and 2,000 instant soups and noodles for male inmates, with winter temperatures inside the Victorian facility dropping to as low as 12C.

The IMB, comprising volunteers tasked with scrutinising custody standards, warned that heating problems will recur until systems are fully replaced 'rather than patched up in a piecemeal manner'. The category B prison holds inmates in 'unsafe, overcrowded, unsanitary and squalid conditions', the report concluded, stating that 'the severe physical limitations of the Victorian buildings remain, with inhumane living conditions'.

HMP Wandsworth is the second most overcrowded prison in the country, holding 60 to 80 per cent more people than it is designed for. The majority of prisoners share extremely cramped cells originally intended for single occupancy, and almost half the prisoners are foreign nationals. Inmates freed under the Government's early release scheme reported severely constrained conditions inside the facility.

How it is being reported

• Coats, blankets and instant noodles given to chilly criminals after prison heating system failedThousands of coats, blankets and portions of soup had to be ordered for inmates at a crumbling Victorian-era prison when its heating system failed, a report has revealed. In November last year, HMP Wandsworth in south-west London suffered serious issues with its heating and hot water. This was recorded as a "loss of service", according to a new Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) report, as winter temperatures dropped to as low as 12C. An additional 1,500 coats, 1,000 blankets, 2,000 instant noodles and soups were rushed for the male inmates, the board said. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say…GB News · 21 Oct, 05:03
• ‘Squalid’, scandal-hit prison forced to order coats, blankets and soup for inmates after heating failureIssues with the heating supply and hot water at HMP Wandsworth became so serious that it was reported as a ‘loss of service’, a report saidThe Independent · 21 Oct, 00:01

In this story: HMP Wandsworth · Independent Monitoring Board · London

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