Latest news with #HMPFiveWells
BBC News
28-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Five Wells prison officer charged with child sex offences
A prison officer at a privately run male prison has been charged with a number of child sex Evans, 36, of Archangel Square, Northampton, has been charged with five offences, including engaging in sexual communication with a child and attempting to arrange or facilitate sexual activity with a Evans, who works at HMP Five Wells in Wellingborough, appeared at Northampton Magistrates' Court on pleas were submitted and he will appear at Northampton Crown Court on 4 July. The 36-year-old is also accused of attempting to cause a child aged 13-15 to watch or look at an image of sexual activity and possession of cocaine.A spokesperson for HMP Five Wells said: "We can confirm that an employee was arrested on Wednesday, 21 May by Northamptonshire Police."It would be inappropriate for us to comment further." Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Daily Mail
How Britain's wokest prison has been taken over by paedophiles who prey on white collar criminals in reign of terror
Built from recycled materials, it was lauded as the £253 million 'prison of the future' with inmates called 'residents', student-hall style rooms with en-suites and no bars on windows But an investigation into HMP Five Wells dubbed 'HMP Woke ' has revealed that the 3-year-old state-of-the-art jail has been overrun by violent rapists and child abusers - who are preying on the white collar criminals they vastly outnumber. While sex offenders are usually segregated from the general prison population because they're the ones at risk of violence, HMP Five Wells in Wellingborough - where 1,206 of the the 1,717 inmates are there for sex crimes - has implemented a scheme to integrate inmates in all parts of the prison. One former inmate told the BBC that since the integration, and the increase in the number of sex offenders at the Northamptonshire jail, which housed just one block in 2017, conditions have deteriorated rapidly. 'There are people getting slashed, getting beat up, they're getting violated sexually,' one former inmate claimed. 'The screws are doing nothing about it. A lot of it was in front of everyone.' Another said that the rest of the prisoners - some 500 inmates - had to 'sign a contract agreeing not to harass or intimidate them, but some of the men are turning to drugs because they can't bear it.' Accounts from inmates' families reveal they are terrified of bringing their children into a prison with one woman whose partner is serving a sentence for financial crime - says taking her daughter along to visits makes her 'skin crawl'. 'I take my daughter up there and rather than enjoying my visit I'm looking at which prisoners are staring at her, standing less than a metre away,' she said, adding that there was a child rapist on her partner's wing who had just been moved. Her partner - who was abused as a child - has plunged into a depression since rapists and sex abusers were moved in with the general prison population, but his six transfer requests have been refused. Others have spoken about turning to drugs such as spice to cope, while one mother said that her son, who is serving a sentence at the private prison for burglary, has spiraled into a dangerous depression and is self-harming. She said that he's cutting himself, which he's never done before, and is taking weed and spice. 'He says he can't get a job because all the jobs are being given to the [sex offenders], who get the easy life and the privileges,' she said. Sex offender inmates at the prison have included Michael Thurman, in his 80s, who wrote a glowing review of the premises for prison magazine Inside Time, likening it to a 5-star establishment. Thurman, who was jailed for sex attacks on a five-year-old girl, said that he was grateful he'd been transferred there and approved of guards and prison officers using each others first names as a mark of 'respect'. 'The cells have ample room, but are slightly lacking in shelves,' he said. 'At last I am in a prison where, as a form of respect, the guards use our Christian names and told us theirs.' Meanwhile, James Dyer, 37, was sentenced to a further 18 months in prison at HMP Five Wells during a hearing at Reading Crown Court. Dyar pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual communication with a child, causing a child to watch/look at an image of sexual activity and breaching his Sexual Harm Protection Order. Opened in 2022 Category C male prison, HMP Five Wells looked more like a modern university halls of residence than any prison. Based in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, the flagship estate features a gym, a snooker table and table tennis table as well as bar-less sliding windows. Built from recycled materials and using solar panels for some of its energy to reduce its carbon footprint, it also boasts gorgeous lakeside views, free use of football pitches and beautiful landscaped gardens. Inmates also have access to a gym, snooker table, table tennis table and a tablet to gain new qualifications. The privately-run facility was founded on principles of rehabilitation rather than punishment but immediately divided opinion with critics on social media comparing it to a five-star hotel and accusing the-then Conservative Government of going soft. Former Justice Secretary Dominic Raab defended the flagship facility insisting that this enhanced focus on rehabilitation would 'drive down offending'. During a visit to the luxury prison Mr Raab explained: 'I'm interested in punishment, because that's what the public expect, but I'm not really interested in stigmatising in a way that's counter-productive to my aim of driving down re-offending. 'The question is, what is the best way to drive down the offending – and it's a combination of making that cell secure, which those new windows do, and also trying to get an offender, particularly one that might have had a persistent, longstanding set of problems and track record of offending, to think of things a different way.' But quickly Britain's cushiest jail deteriorated into chaos. By October 2023 frightened prison officers revealed how inmates were running rampant, smuggling in contraband and throwing boozey, drug-fuelled cell parties. They claimed that inmates regularly hurled sexual taunts at female staff and would attack other prisoners with makeshift knives. One female officer - who spoke anonymously - warned that a lack of staffing meant it was common for one female officer to be alone with 60 men. She added: 'We get urine and faeces thrown in our face. We get spat at. We get things thrown at us. 'An officer got stabbed a few weeks ago. We get punched, kicked, tripped up, hit with pool cues. Something like that happens on a daily basis.' Another whistleblowing prison officer warned that G4S was not providing staff with adequate equipment like radios, bodycams and alarm buttons. He told Sky News: 'The prisoners run the prison. If things don't change, someone is going to get killed.' Brazen videos taken inside the prison and posted on social media also showed convicts climbing on the prison roof topless and dancing in their cells. In one especially shocking clip, a group of at least four carefree prisoners were filmed appearing to take a shot of alcohol while also biting on a lemon wedge and licking salt off the back of their hands. They also appeared to smoke cannabis. Responding to the footage at the time, a spokesperson for G4S told MailOnline: 'Our dedicated staff work tirelessly to detect, intercept and confiscate contraband. Anyone found with a mobile phone, drugs or alcohol in prison is breaking the law and may face extra time behind bars.' Meanwhile violence and self-harm amongst convicts has also skyrocketed. Assaults at HMP Five Wells have increased by 75 per cent compared with a national average of around 11 per cent. Prisoner-on-prisoner attacks rose from 215 in 2023 to 375 last year and self-harm incidents jumped from 1,289 to 2,069 recorded cases. Three inmates have died in HMP Five Wells since December including Kevin Golby, 49, who was found dead in his cell one day after being assaulted, and Reece Pryce, 23, who died on Christmas day. Shocking testimony from former inmates of HMP Five Wells, suggest that violence, self-harm and drug use has become rife amongst inmates since more sex offenders have moved onto the general wards prison. When the prison was first established in 2022 just one of the seven housing blocks was used to hold sex offenders. But data from March reveals that 1,206 out of 1,717 inmates - or just over 70 per cent of all prisoners on the estate - had been convicted of a sex crime, according to the Ministry of Justice. Responding to the allegations, a spokesperson for G4S said: 'We continue to respond to population pressures and receive prisoners as required. 'We have always held men convicted of sexual offences.'
BBC News
14-05-2025
- BBC News
Safety concerns at prison in Wellingborough holding sex offenders
When HMP Five Wells opened in 2022 it was hailed as the UK's first "smart" prison, yet the facility's remit has changed and it now holds one of the highest numbers of sex offenders in Europe. What has this meant for the prison? Corinna is worried about her partner Sam, who is serving a sentence for a financial crime at the Category C male resettlement prison in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. She says when some sex offenders started to be housed with the general inmate population, Sam spiralled into a depression."Shortly after my partner entered [HMP Five Wells], they came up with this scheme to integrate every part of the prison with monsters, the worst of the worst," Corinna says. "The main prisoners had to sign a contract agreeing not to harass or intimidate them, but some of the men are turning to drugs because they can't bear it."A child rapist was moved off Sam's wing this week because he was bragging and about to get his head kicked in." Corinna says her partner has put in six transfer requests, which have all been declined."He was abused as a child, so for him it's a massive struggle to live among the very people who hurt him – he's so withdrawn, he's depressed."As HMP Five Wells is now an integrated prison, sex offenders may be present when the families of other inmates visit the facility."It makes my skin crawl," Corinna says."I take my daughter up there and rather than enjoying my visit I'm looking at which prisoners are staring at her, standing less than a metre away." BBC Investigations has spoken to several former inmates or the loved ones of serving prisoners at HMP Five Wells, who have echoed Corrina's claims. The BBC has not used the real names of those was recently released after serving a sentence for sharing indecent says attacks on sex offenders and bullying was commonplace. "When I left, the prison was 80% sex offenders and soon it is going to be 100%."There are people getting slashed, getting beat up, they're getting violated sexually. The screws are doing nothing about it. A lot of it was in front of everyone."Jake says he spent all day locked in his cell and began using spice, a psychoactive substance, which was sprayed onto sheets of paper and slid under the door."It's a time-killer, you're just out of it. I was doing it 24/7."I spent probably £6,000 in five months – it's easier to get than food and drink. I came out worse than when I went in," Jake says. In 2022 only one of the seven housing blocks at the facility was used to hold sex offenders, but by March 1,206 out of 1,717 inmates had been convicted of a sex crime, according to Ministry of Justice data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. The figure is nearly the same number as HMP Littlehey in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, which is Europe's largest prison housing sex the integration in 2024, there has been a rise in violence and self-harm. Figures published by the Ministry of Justice show assaults increased by nearly 75% in 2024 compared to 11% nationally. Prisoner-on-prisoner attacks rose from 215 in 2023 to 375 last year and self-harm incidents also jumped from 1,289 to 2,069. A slightly reduced prison population in 2023 could account in part for the disparity. Maria told us her son, who is serving his sentence at HMP Five Wells for burglary, has never felt so unsafe."What really worries me is the self-harming – they've got him so low that he's cutting himself and he's never done that before."He's on to the drugs – you can get anything: weed, spice. Even if you don't want it, it's pushed under the doors and then you owe them and they won't take it back."When HMP Five Wells opened the then-Conservative government said the "smart" prison's workshop spaces, classrooms and drug-recovery wings would help prisoners "find work immediately" after their release. The facility rewards well-behaved prisoners by moving them to live in another level in the prison with "enhanced" privileges. But Maria's son says the system does not work. "He says he can't get a job because all the jobs are being given to the [sex offenders], who get the easy life and the privileges."I don't think the prison is living up to its ambitions – why aren't they rehabilitating people? I think it's a lack of resources and skilled officers," Maria says. Three inmates have died in custody at HMP Five Wells since December. Kevin Golby, 49, was found dead in his cell on 10 December, one day after being assaulted, and Reece Pryce, 23, died on Christmas Day – the cause of his death is still being BBC has also seen videos recorded on prisoners' mobile phones, which show fist fights and drug taking inside the another video, a shirtless prisoner is cheered as he parades about on a roof.G4S, the company which runs the prison, says the incidents in the videos happened in 2023 and were dealt with appropriately. A progress report by HM's Inspectorate of Prisons, following an inspection in November 2024, found self-harm was "the highest for similar prisons", and the impact of integration had caused "anxiety" amongst inmates, with reports of bullying. However, it says progress had been made at the facility in relation to leadership, purposeful activity and staff-prisoner relationships. A spokesperson for G4S says: "We continue to respond to population pressures and received prisoners as required. We have always held men convicted of sexual offences."The company told the BBC it did not recognise Sam's claims about his personal difficulties and "the safety of prisoners was a priority". It added privileges were "applied fairly and based solely on the behaviour of prisoners".G4S says "in common with other prisons, drugs remained a challenge", but it followed all national prison policy and the safety of visitors was a priority.
The Sun
10-05-2025
- The Sun
Female warder over ‘flings with at least two lags' at scandal-hit prison
A FEMALE warder has been arrested over alleged flings with lags at a scandal-hit prison. The 22-year-old is being quizzed over at least two inappropriate relationships. 1 It is claimed the prison officer struck up close bonds at a category C jail — home to 1,700 inmates including robbers and sex offenders. A government counter-corruption unit is said to have been tipped off about her activities at HMP Five Wells in Wellingborough, Northants. A source said: 'We are talking about sexual relationships. There are believed to be even more prisoners involved than first thought.' The guard was quizzed on suspicion of misconduct in a public office and her home was searched by police officers in November. She was bailed as enquiries into the alleged flings continue. Bosses at the £253million prison, run by G4S, suspended the guard and transferred one of the inmates involved in the case to another jail. She is the second warder to be arrested recently over flings at HMP Five Wells. In January, prison officer Toni Cole, 29, was jailed for a year after admitting having an inappropriate relationship with an inmate in January 2023.
