TERRY West, originally of Slough, is serving a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence at HMP Nottingham for a series of armed robberies and burglaries across Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.
The 37-year-old wrote to the Post from his cell to reveal the experience he was having at the prison.
He wrote: "I came to this hell hole on March 6, 2013. I [can only] shower every three days. I was stabbed with a nail and placed a complaint to the governor, who [told me] don't complain about such a trivial matter. In the newspaper you say that all is restored and the services on offer to help rehabilitate are all up and running. Come and see HMP Nottingham. It does nothing to rehabilitate anyone. I've not seen my family for over six months as my dad is 68-years-old and cannot drive that far so talking about family ties is a joke.
"I have been clean from class A drugs for over two and a half years but no one supports you through that even though people are meant to come and see you. If you want to sort out your life, you are on your own. It is such a dark and dirty place, but 90 per cent of the lads that get out are back within seven to 10 days.
"What about prisoner and staff safety? Most wings only have three members of staff to 100 prisoners. It is a joke. Everyone turns a blind eye to what goes on in the prison because there are not enough staff to challenge it. Assaults on staff is normal, with the day-to-day alarm bell, and with prisoners it's the same.
"It won't be until a member of staff or inmate gets killed that anyone will even care."