A council environmental health official has been called in to Forest Bank prison in Salford amid reports of a growing infestation of rats and mice. One former inmate has described how rodents can get into cells and 'chew' on their food.
The claims come a month after the privately run prison - operated by Sodexo for the Ministry of Justice - was savaged in an inspectorate report which concluded the jail was 'unable to fulfil its role successfully'. The same report also noted 'an ongoing problem with mice'.
Today prison officials would not be drawn on the scale of the infestation when pressed by the Manchester Evening News but they did confirm a council environmental health official had visited the jail, sited on the banks of the River Irwell in Agecroft.
One recently-released inmate told the M.E.N: "You're in your pad at night and you wake up in the morning and half your food has been chewed at. It's horrendous. There are rat droppings everywhere.
"They give us a plastic box to keep our food in but it still gets eaten. I've never been to prison before and I won't go back. It was shocking."
He described how inmates fashioned 'rodent excluders' from socks and toilet roll to prevent unwelcome visitors, but to no avail.
The former prisoner described how about 20 inmates were given a free Dominos pizza after they were ordered to scrub the kitchen. "It should be clean anyway," he said.
He added: "I've never seen so many clueless people in one place and I'm not just talking about the cons. It's a bomb waiting to go off. It's run by very young girls with fake eye lashes and curls. The management haven't got a clue. It's frightening. I'm just glad I'm out."
The M.E.N. put all the points made by the ex prisoner to Forest Bank but a spokesperson would only say: "We can confirm an environmental health officer from Salford City Council recently visited HMP Forest Bank. We are fully committed to providing a clean and safe environment."
Last month's damning report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons detailed 'cramped and overcrowded cells' - the watchdog's unannounced visit in February found the jail had 1,354 prisoners, nearly 300 above its baseline capacity.
It went on: "While communal areas were generally clean, most of the wings were unwelcoming and there was an ongoing problem with mice. Outdoor areas were bleak and exercise yards were small and bare. Shower areas were grubby, and drainage was poor."
The watchdog report was a major setback for the management of the prison. In January the Manchester Evening News reported Sodexo was to keep the contract for now after beefing up security and carrying out a major refurbishment.
This followed the issuing of a 45-day improvement notice by the government in August. The 'significant concerns and rectification notice' was slapped on the jail by the Ministry of Justice. The prison is operated by Sodexo Justice Services and if progress had been not made, the company could have lost the contract which is scheduled to run until 2025.
But the unannounced inspection in February discovered a raft of issues still persist including high levels of violent incidents. The Chief Inspector of Prisons said 'leaders show limited ambition to improve the situation'.
However, management insisted at the time that they were 'making steady progress'.
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