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Second disturbance at HMP Swaleside on Isle of Sheppey just five days after guard was stabbed

At least three inmates were involved in a disturbance at Swaleside prison on the Isle of Sheppey.

One prisoner remains in hospital after the attack, which happened at about 9pm.

KentOnline has received unconfirmed reports that one of the inmates was stabbed.

Trouble at HMP Swaleside has been blamed on understaffing
Trouble at HMP Swaleside has been blamed on understaffing

A prison service spokesperson said: "Three prisoners were involved, one is being treated in hospital and two are being assessed for medical treatment."

This latest disturbance comes just five days after inmates started several fires and attacked a prison guard.

Following the assault, in which the guard suffered facial injuries, the The Howard League for Penal Reform branded Swaleside "a very unsafe prison".

Andrew Neilson, director of campaigns at The Howard League for Penal Reform, said the number of prison officers in the jail has been cut by a quarter in the last four years which meant last Friday's incident did not come as a "massive surprise".

And last month Swaleside was slammed by HM Inspectorate of Prisons which blamed staff shortages for a variety of problems at the category B jail.

Serious issues raised by the report included a number of serious assaults on staff and inmates, with some prisoners too frightened to leave their cells.

Last month another report by an Independent Monitoring Board raised concern over the number of weapons found at the prison.

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