"It's a s***hole mate - proper bad": Ex-Strangeways inmates' lift lid on 'disgusting' conditions inside

Inmates released from rat-infested Strangeways prison - slammed by the government's watchdog last week - have described shocking conditions inside the jail, claiming drugs were 'rife' and drones deliver 'anything you can think of' to inmates.

Last week, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, concluded conditions were so concerning he took the unusual decision to publish an urgent improvement notice he had sent to Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood.

He described 'squalid' and 'filthy' conditions inside the the crumbling 156-year-old Victorian jail, which Manchester City Council would like to see demolished. The supply of drugs inside was 'catastrophic', said the report.

Now, two recently released prisons have described their experience inside Strangeways, formally HMP Manchester, and detailed the scale of the supply of drugs inside alongside how unsafe they felt behind bars.

READ MORE: Inside Strangeways, the drug-ridden rat-infested prison 'run by gangs'

Karl Wilson, 29, who told the Manchester Evening News he was out after serving a 32 month sentence for burglary, said he had been 'in and out of jail' since he was a teenager but said HMP Manchester was the worst prison he had ever experienced. "It's a dive," he said.

Karl claimed around '75 per cent' of inmates were using drugs, and if a prisoner was found to be in debt with a dealer, they could be stabbed. He said phones were also 'rife' inside, there was limited space for exercise, and drones could deliver 'anything you can think of' to inmates.

"You could sit here at 10pm and see 10, 11, 12 drones," he said. "There are more drugs in there than outside."

Karl said he 'never felt safe' inside HMP Manchester and he was pleased when he was told last month he was being freed under the early release scheme last month to ease prison overcrowding.

Another inmate Ryan Surplise, 41, who said he had been sentenced to three years for burglary, said conditions inside Strangeways were 'disgusting'. He complained of rats and the water sometimes 'running black'. He said he became so unwell behind bars he had lost weight.

He also shared concerns about stabbings inside the prison - describing the most recent incident as taking place three days before his release. He described widespread drug use and added: "It's a s***hole mate - proper bad."

Following publication of Mr Taylors's urgent improvement notice, the Ministry of Justice insisted work had already begun to address his concerns, including more training for staff and improved security. It will publish its full action plan within a month.

What the report said

The ex-inmates' comments come after last week's intervention by the official prisons' watchdog. Mr Taylor said the the high security category A jail, which houses more than 700 men, was 'fundamentally unsafe' and 'unstable' and labelled the prison 'amongst the most violent' in the UK.

Organised crime gangs and the supply of drugs are 'clearly undermining every aspect of prison life', he added. The number of weapons and illicit items uncovered during the watchdog's visit last month was among the highest of all adult male prisons.

More than half the inmates at the high security category A jail - which can house more than 700 men - reported they felt unsafe. Staff morale was 'low', Mr Taylor wrote.

Many of the jail's windows were smashed and inmates were reduced to ripping foam from their mattresses to push into window frames to keep out the cold, said the report.

The situation was so bad the inspector published an 'urgent' improvement notice he had sent to Justice Secretary Mahmood. Even more concerning was the watchdog's assertion that there had been 'little progress in addressing our previous concerns' from a previous inspection in 2021.

'We will publish an action plan'

The M.E.N. put the released prisoners' allegations to the MoJ, which pointed to a statement released last week by Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, Lord Timpson, who admitted the state of the prison system was 'shocking', but stressed new Labour government had 'inherited' the mess from the previous Conservative regimes.

He said: "Reports such as this have become far too common. They typify the shocking state of the prison system we have inherited. Every day our dedicated staff do vital work keeping the public safe. They deserve better than being faced with conditions such as these and the constant threat of violence.

"That is why this Government took immediate action to end the overcrowding crisis engulfing our jails. We will now continue the hard work of ensure prisons like HMP Manchester become places that create better citizens and not better criminals.

"The Governor and his team continue to do a great job in very difficult circumstances and are already working to address the inspectors’ concerns. We will publish an action plan in the coming weeks to deliver the urgent improvements needed at the prison. I will be keeping a close eye on progress."