Neighbours of Britain's newest prison ‘plagued by constant swearing and rap music'
HMP Fosse Way is one of Britain's newest prisons, built in 2023 at a cost of £286 million.
The state-of-the-art facility in Leicestershire houses 1,700 lower-risk prisoners with greater freedoms to reintegrate into society as they approach the end of their sentences.
But those living nearby have claimed the increased liberty has come at their expense.
Warren Sim, a 56-year-old managing director who lives yards from the prison's perimeter fence, likened the noises coming from the complex to a 'jumbo jet' taking off.
The father of four said: 'We live a couple of hundred metres away from the nearest wing, where our garden ends there's a trainline and the other side of that is the prison ground.
'The noise is absolutely ridiculous. Prisoners are shouting out of the window, effing and blinding at each other, and explicit rap music is so loud you hear it in our garden.'
Jaclyn Tierney, 47, added that she has had to limit her two children playing in the garden due to the foul language coming from the prison.
She said: 'The thing that grinds my gears is the music which is that loud it's like my neighbours are playing it. It's so obscene, it's the f-word, the n-word.
'I won't let my kids in the garden, I don't want them listening to that. I can't believe they're listening to that sort of music in there, given that they're in prison. Everybody is absolutely sick of it, they've just had enough.'
Chris Hasler, 46, said he worried about the impact the prison would have on the value of his home.
The father of one said: 'We were told when it was being built that the cells would face inwards. It's got closer, higher and from my son's bedroom window you can literally see the prisoners on the landing.
'In some of the houses you literally have prisoners looking into your home. It's not just the noise, nobody wants that, it's the privacy, too.'
The prison, operated by Serco, stands on the former site of Glen Parva Young Offenders' Institution. It features five-a-side pitches, table tennis tables, gaming consoles in cells, and a studio for learning music and technical skills. A £100,000 simulator teaches prisoners to operate HGVs and forklift trucks.
In February last year, a 35-year-old inmate was found dead in his cell. Meanwhile, over the course of 2022 and 2023, 58 inmates absconded.
A spokesperson for Serco, which runs the prison, said: 'We have implemented a number of measures to reduce the noise of extractor fans and loud music, and we remain committed to working with the local community to find suitable resolutions where possible.'
Blaby district council added: 'We have been working closely with prison operators Serco to advise them on ways they can manage noise issues to reduce any impact on local residents.
'If people are experiencing issues then please contact our environmental health department as both ourselves and Serco are keen to ensure any disturbance from the site is kept to a minimum.'
It comes as the Government faces criticism from residents across the country set to be impacted by its programme to see four new prisons built over the next seven years to solve the overcrowding crisis.
Last December, villagers in Ulnes Walton, Lancashire, protested plans for a third prison in their area, claiming it could leave them outnumbered by inmates.
Angela Rayner decided to go ahead with the plans, despite concern from an independent planning inspector.
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