'Ticking time bomb': Tensions running high in packed prisons 

The Prison Officers Association said prisons were already at 'breaking point' and when the number of inmates goes over the 5,000 mark, it will be 'a point of no return'. Picture: Dan Linehan

The overcrowding crisis in prisons is a “ticking time bomb”, prison officers have warned, as daily prisoner numbers are on the verge of breaking the landmark figure of 5,000 people.

Official figures show last Tuesday, almost 4,970 inmates were crammed into cells — cells with the capacity to hold about 4,500 people.