Prison overcrowding at record levels with four to a cell in some facilities

Many prisons currently have four to a cell, and over 180 people are sleeping on mattresses too. 

The number of people behind bars has hit record levels – and the Government has been warned of an “extremely high-risk situation” as the overcrowding gets worse in the coming weeks.

There are now four prisoners per cell in several prisons, which has been described as “grossly inappropriate and dangerous.”