Prisoners at a West Midlands prison have assaulted screws and started “multiple” fires in a week-long outbreak of disorder. A major incident was declared at Featherstone Prison on Thursday as riot cops were drafted in to deal with the trouble, which also included a hostage situation. An extra 20 screws have now been called in to maintain order at the category C prison near Wolverhampton.
An inmate at the jail, which holds more than 600 prisoners, said the disorder started following a fight in one of the prisoner accommodation blocks. The fight could not be brought under control and screws had to call in reinforcements. He claimed three people were taken to hospital on Tuesday after further trouble, and screws were assaulted on Wednesday when they attempted to move some inmates to another block. Prisoners set fire to cells on Thursday and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service sent two crews to the jail.
