Prison officers hospitalised after violence at young offender institute

28 December 2019, 10:01

Several prison officers were hospitalised after violence broke out at a young offender institute.

Around 14 staff at Feltham Young Offender Institute in west London were treated after the disturbance, which occurred at lunchtime on Friday.

The Ministry of Justice said there were no serious injuries, and the matter was brought under control "within 25 minutes".

It is not known how many youngsters were involved, but the centre is home to around 100 boys and young men aged between 15 and 21.

A Prison Service spokesman said: "An incident at Feltham Young Offender Institute was quickly resolved by our brave and diligent prison officers.

"We will never tolerate violence against our staff and will punish those involved."

An inspection report published in June identified soaring levels of violence and self-harm, high use of staff force, poor care and long periods of lock-up in cells in Feltham A, which holds offenders aged 15-18.

It prompted the Government to halt placements at the unit.

The MoJ said there had been a sustained reduction in levels of assaults on staff, self-harm and use of force between the start of May and the end of August, but there are no plans to return the establishment to full capacity.