Prison in flames: Rioting inmates cause millions of pounds of damage after going on New Year's Day rampage

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 2:15 PM on 1st January 2011

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• Open prison set alight at midnight in 'row over alcohol'
• Prisons chief: 'They've been chasing them round like Benny Hill'
• Claims just SIX staff were on duty on New Year's Eve
• Gym, snooker room and pool room all destroyed
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A prison was up in flames today after inmates went on a New Year's Day rampage, apparently sparked when they were ordered to undergo breathalyser tests for contraband alcohol. 

Around 40 prisoners at Ford Prison near Arundel in West Sussex starting smashing windows and hitting fire alarms at around midnight before actually settling buildings alight. 

Staff were forced to retreat from part of the site while specialist prison officers in riot gear were rushed in as huge flames continued to blaze this afternoon.

Five blocks at the open jail were set alight first and then another three at about noon. A mail room, gym, snooker room and pool room with 10 new pool tables have been destroyed.

Firefighters, riot police and specialist officers eventually poured into the site at around 1pm in a bid to regain control after areas of the prison were initally locked down for safety.

 

Ablaze: Ford Prison in Arundel, Sussex, where prisoners set buildings alight and ran riot

Inferno: Inmates removing their possessions from the burning buildings today

Huge plumes of smoke billowed into the sky as prisoners could be seen carrying their belongings to safety in large plastic bags. 

An inquiry is likely after claims just two prison officers and four support staff were on hand to manage up to 200 inmates last night despite rising tensions in recent days.

Mark Freeman from the Prison Officers Association said officers had been chasing inmates around 'like a scene out of Benny Hill', trying to enforce breath tests.

Mr Freeman, POA deputy general secretary, claimed a 'large amount' of alcohol had been found. Highlighting a report on alcohol at the jail in 2008, he warned such a riot had long been on the cards.

'In the early hours staff tried to breathalyse a number of prisoners because they suspected they had been drinking which I think we can say with some certainty because of the amount of alcohol found over recent days and weeks,' he said.

'A total of 40 bottles of alcohol have been found empty. It's been a concern here for a long time about the amount of alcohol prisoners are able to get.'

Chaos: Riot police prepare to go into the prison to try and regain control

Packing up: Riot police look on as prisoners carry plastic bags full of their belongings

Damage caused by the rioting and flames is visible (left), while a riot officer patrols the perimeter

He continued: 'When the prisoners refused to be breathalysed they became violent along with other prisoners and went on what we call a mutiny. This is a prison mutiny.

'One of the officers, a very experienced officer, could see how it was going to unravel and withdrew the officers. This has been a long time waiting to happen.

'Staff have been running around trying to breathalyse prisoners, it's been reminiscent of the end scenes of The Benny Hill Show, the only thing missing was the music.'

Initially, police were ordered to keep away from the buildings as the inmates rampaged. A sign on the inside of the main gate read: 'During Tornado, keep locked.'

But firemen and more than 100 officers including specialist control and restraint teams flooded the site shortly before 1pm as officers with guard dogs patrolled the perimeter.

But defiant inmates were unfazed and gestured V for victory at photographers, while others wandered around as if there had been no disturbance.

Those actually involved in the riots were wearing home-made balaclavas in a bid to keep their identities secret.

Defiant: Prisoners doing a V for Victory as buildings continue to burn

Up in flames: Smoke and fire pours from the open prison near Arundel, West Sussex, this morning

Riot police were called in after around 40 inmates began smashing windows and torching buildings

Riot police are continuing to gather at the scene which is not yet under control

This afternoon, a West Sussex Fire Service appliance went in at 12.15pm, the same time as about 60-strong control and restraint teams.

A Prison Service spokesman said: 'We can confirm that around 140 additional prison service staff have arrived at Ford to support the local staff in bringing the prison under full control. This is not an indication that the situation is escalating but is a pre-planned intervention in line with standard practice.

'One of the two wings was back under prison staff control by 10.40am and there is no indication that the situation is escalating on the second wing.

'The fire brigade has been into the prison and the fires have been contained. The fire brigade have now left the prison. The causes of the disturbance and not yet known and will be subject to an investigation.'

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said no injuries to prisoners or staff had been reported.

He said: 'At around 12am about 40 prisoners began smashing windows and setting off fire alarms at the establishment and set one building alight.

'Prison staff were forced to retreat and police and the fire brigade have been called. Specialist teams of prison officers have been called in to deal with the incident. We have no reports of any injuries to staff or prisoners at this stage.'

Mr Freeman said he was concerned the Government was placing inappropriate prisoners in open prisons in a bid to reduce prison numbers. 

He also questioned staffing levels, saying: 'It's very difficult when you have a very small staff, which they did last night. 

'In our view they do not have enough staff, the general policy is that prisons in an open state have less staff but we feel they should have more because they have more access to illegal activities.

'This is what happens when you have the mix of easily available alcohol and the wrong type of prisoner.'

View from the sky: The scale of the blaze is visible in this picture taken from a helicopter

FAMOUS FORMER INMATES AT OPEN JAIL, FORD PRISON

Lord Brocket (left) was transferred to the prison in 1996 after being stabbed at a facility in Bedfordshire. George Best (right) spent Christmas of 1984 behind bars and played for the prison's football team 

In 1996 Lord Brocket, who was jailed for five years for a £4.5m classic insurance fraud, was moved to HMP Ford after he was stabbed in a prison in Bedfordshire. 

George Best received a three-month prison sentence for drunk driving, assaulting a police officer and failing to answer bail. He spent Christmas of 1984 behind bars and played for the prison’s football team. 

Learco Chindamo, who murdered the London headmaster Philip Lawrence, has also been held there, as has Darius Guppy, who was jailed in February 1993 for staging a faked jewel robbery and claiming £1.8m from the insurers. 

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