On 29th August two prisons ended up in chaos during several hours of rioting by prisoners.
At HMP Featherstone in Staffordshire, prisoners tried to get a prison wide riot going when they set fires on their wing. Fires were previously set before when the prison was in a week of disorder back in August of last year in which screws were also attacked.
Also within the same day prisoners went on the rampage on their wing at HMP Haverigg in Cumbria after the smoking ban, which is being implemented in all prisons on the island, was introduced. Violent confrontations broke out after a protest turned violent when it was clear the prisoners were not getting their way. As anti-riot units were sent the prisoners started smashing up cells, flooding them, throwing TVs and even breaking up pool tables. Screws were forced to beat a retreat from the wing, which was left looking like a bomb had hit it. The riot started at 7pm and ended 4am yesterday after the Tornado anti-riot units repressed the rebellion. They particularly targeted a group of 24 prisoners – deemed to be leaders – who were then bused to other jails. A further 50 inmates were later transferred to prisons in Liverpool and Birmingham.
