Zombie peril of a comic book

training them was £19.78 million. It comes as the Government reports record attacks and assaults on staff.

Justice Secretary David Gauke claims to have “strengthened the frontline with more than 4,300 new staff” to tackle drugs and violence in jails.

And he says the Government is investing £6 million in ten of the most challenging prisons to tackle drug supply and reduce demand.

Meanwhile prisons minister Rory Stewart claimed he would resign in a year if he failed to reduce drugs and violence levels in ten target jails in England.

Last year there were more than 3,500 assaults in the ten prisons that the Ministry of Justice is targeting.

That was an increase of 15 per cent on the previous year and more than double the number of assaults that took place in 2014. In Parliament this week MPS were told how one prison officer was badly injured by a drug-addled con.

Gordon Henderson MP said: “This was not an isolated incident. It happens every day of every week in one or other of our prisons. Much of that violent behaviour, as we have heard, is caused by drugs.”

Violent

And Chris Evans, Labour MP for Islwyn, Gwent, told of the chaos after speaking to a guard in his constituency who quit after six months.

He said: “This is a widespread problem. Prisons are at capacity and we are locking GUARDS at a jail housing Britain’s worst killers stopped a bid to smuggle the zombie drug Spice soaked in a comic book.

An officer was taken ill after inhaling fumes during the incident at HMP Wakefield, West

people up with drug addictions but it’s the Prison Service which is taking a hit.

“Suicide is common in prison and the people who have to pick up the pieces are the prison officers.

“There is evidence that people are leaving because they’re not equipped to deal with the violence and the self-harm, the suicides and serious issues on mental health problems.”

Our statistics – disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act – reveal that Yorks. A source said: “The officer was handed the magazine by a visitor and asked to pass it on.

“He refused as it had not gone through the security checks.

“A short time later he began to feel ill and had to go off duty. Health checks confirmed he had been exposed to a Spicelike drug. He was very ill for some time.”

The Prison Service said: “We’re spending an extra £70million on scanners, dogs and search teams.”

in 2015, just 296 warders with less than 12 months on the job quit.

The latest figures represent a 120 per cent surge in resignations. The figures also show soaring numbers of staff quitting after completing a year’s service.

Last night a Prison Service spokesman said: “The huge number of officers we’ve recently recruited inevitably means there are more staff – and more leavers – with under one year’s experience. xperience.

“But we are working hard to retain staff, including ding by giving them the biggest pay award in a decade last year.” ”

And responding ng to Neil

Harrison’s claims, the service said: “The wellbeing ng and safety of our officers is a priority. All newly recruited staff ff receive thorough training and support.”