Kirkham prison security 'ramped up' after intruders found on site

Details emerged during a hearing for a father-of-one from Liverpool accused of being in possession of mobile phones suspected to be destined for HMP Kirkham.

Preston Crown Court was told illegal items suspected to be destined for the open prison were also found by prison staff and police officers.

In response the Ministry of Justice said employees are "ramping up security" there.

Addressing the defendant, Judge Philip Parry said: "I'm told the prison staff identified a number of intruders within the estate and that officers came to search the perimeter and found you, and others who had plainly escaped.

"They discovered a rucksack which was very close to where you were arrested and had a number of contraband items possibly including illegal drugs.

"A week before this incident intruders were also again spotted within the perimeter of HMP Kirkham and though the intruders escaped on that occasion, the vehicle they escaped in was traced by police and stopped on the motorway nearby, and you were in that car I'm told and so too were a number of mobile phones the prosecution believe were destined for inside to the prison."

He warned the defendant that such incidents "almost always result in an immediate term of imprisonment" and adjourned the case to December 17.

It comes after a separate plot to throw Kinder Surprise eggs stuffed full of drugs into the jail was foiled in July, with Lancashire police giving caution to a man and woman, both 32, for drug possession offences.

In May last year, the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB), which is made up of unpaid members of the public, said inmates at the open prison in Lancashire find it "easy" to smuggle drugs into the jail after work or day release" and and though random searches are done, "there is neither the staff nor the equipment to search every prisoner on their return".

Many inmates abscond from the establishment, and in 2017, more than 350 mobile phones or SIM cards were confiscated there.

The prison's last unannounced inspection in 2018 noted the availability of illicit substances had increased, despite efforts to control it, but found security was "proportionate and well managed".

Today, a Prison Service spokesperson said: “Our hardworking staff are working closely with police to catch those responsible and stop these items getting into the wrong hands.

“We’re ramping up security with more CCTV, razor wire and nightly patrols.”

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