AN investigation has been launched after a prisoner at HMP Nottingham inflicted horrifying injuries on himself - which fellow inmates said was in protest at the sweltering conditions inside.
He is said to have "gouged his own eyes out" on Monday evening, just days before his release date, as a number of inmates allegedly protested against the temperature in their cells and poor conditions across the prison.
However, the Ministry of Justice has said that the injuries were an act of self-harm and not in protest at prison conditions.East Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed that it was called to the prison, in Perry Road, Sherwood, at 6.43pm to treat a male patient and a prison nurse was already attending. The ambulance then took him to the Queen's Medical Centre.
Police also confirmed they were called to HMP Nottingham at 8pm the same evening to a report of an injured man and, following inquiries, "it was established that no crime had taken place".
A source inside the jail told the Post: "Somebody cut their eyes out of their face. He was protesting.
"The heat is so high. Prisoners can't deal with it. They need to let some air in the room. It is only going to get worse."
Temperatures soared across Nottingham in recent days, with Monday's high hitting 24C.
A statement from the Ministry of Justice said: "A prisoner at HMP Nottingham was taken to hospital following an act of self-harm. Staff reacted quickly and paramedics attended. No other prisoners were involved.
"The prison is investigating the incident and police were informed as a matter of course."
When asked about the heat inside the prison, the spokesman said: "These claims are completely untrue."The incident comes after a critical report of the Category B prison by the Independent Monitoring Board.
The organisation's annual review said a 25 per cent cut in budget had led to the loss of 140 officers, despite the capacity of the prison being upped in the same period.
The IMB said the changes in operations were "unsustainable" and would lead to "more prisoner disruption and a further reduction in already low staff morale" in the future. It said prisoners were being stopped from having showers, work and education programmes were being cancelled, prisoners with serious mental health problems were being kept in cells formerly used for solitary confinement and Muslim inmates' food had been contaminated with pork products.
Speaking to the Post earlier this week, a Prison Service spokesman said: "Staffing levels at HMP Nottingham are at an appropriate level to ensure the prison runs safely. Our approach to staffing levels has been agreed with the unions and puts prison officers back in frontline roles where they are most needed."
But a woman from Hucknall who has a friend in the prison said the conditions were "dreadful." She said: "It is disgusting. They hardly leave their cells, being in there at least 23 hours a day if not 24. They can have as little as one shower a week and exercise twice a week, which they are meant to have every day. That place is just horrible."
What are your experiences of the prison? E-mail newsdesk@nottinghampost.com.
