PRISONS ABUZZ Sex toys worth more to female lags than drugs

SEX toys have become the most valuable item for lags in women’s prisons.

The demand for vibrators outstrips drugs, mobile phones and sim cards, according to jail sources.

They can cost as much as £200 and are being smuggled in through use of drones, or by visitors and even prison officers.

One vibrator went for £150

– more than 10 times the price in a sex shop – inside HMP Bronzefield in Surrey, where multiple murderer Rose West is an inmate.

Small toys which can be easily hidden are the most popular ones.

And though they are banned in most jails, some staff in prisons which have long-term inmates turn a blind eye to their use.

One serving prison officer said demand was so great that female inmates have fought over them.

He said: “Up until about a year ago, drugs and mobile phones were the items inmates wanted in female prisons. Now, almost out of the blue, it is sex toys.

“Vibrators are now so small they can be easily smuggled into prisons. There are some which can be recharged, so inmates don’t even need to get their hands on batteries.

“The view among a lot of staff is that if the toys keep the inmates happy, and help them to get through their time, then that’s okay. “But there have been fights, or toys have been stolen, and that is when we have to step in.”

The UK is one of several countries which does not allow conjugal visits – a visit by a prisoner’s spouse or partner in a “private” room.

This is said to have created the market for vibrators.

In some prisons, there are so few sex toys that enterprising inmates rent them out by the hour.

The demand for sex toys increasing in men’s jails. Convicted drug dealer Jack Swarez, who is serving a 17-year sentence at HMP Lowdham Grange, Notts, claimed male lags would behave better if they were given blow-up dolls. is also