Three hospitalised after 'riot' at notorious Welsh prison (2024)

A ‘riot’ at a notorious prison in Wales has been shut down by security officers after three inmates were hospitalised.

Around 20 prisoners were involved in Friday’s unrest at the crisis-hit HMP Parc in Bridgend, which has seen 10 inmate deaths in just three months.

At least four of the prisoners are believed to have died after taking a rogue batch of zombie drug Spice. A prison worker and three others have since been arrested after being accused of smuggling illicit items or drugs into the private-run prison.

Security firm G4S, who run the facility, sent a ‘tornado team’ into the prison to quell the uprising on Friday after two ‘unrelated incidents’ saw prisoner tensions flare.

It said the first involved about 20 prisoners and was ‘resolved safely’ after support was received from the Prison Service.

The second was an altercation between three prisoners, who later required hospital treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.

An air ambulance also attended the prison but was told to stand down.

A G4S spokesperson said: ‘Staff at HMP Parc swiftly resolved two short-lived incidents involving prisoners on Friday, with no officers injured. Those involved will receive the strongest possible punishments, including criminal prosecution.’

The prison confirmed support was sought from the Prison Service and was received ‘in line with national protocol.’

Families of prisoners and staff alike said the unrest was tantamount to a prison riot, WalesOnline reports.

Earlier in the week, families of those that have died held a protest outside the prison demanding ‘justice’ for the deceased, following reports of a drug-smuggling ring operating in the prison which has seen a number of staff members arrested.

A woman who recently worked at the prisontold WalesOnline: ‘The prison was ultimately run by the prisoners, with officers being paid to bring in contraband items. The enhanced red band prisoners, who were able to roam, would then ferry these items across the prison.’

Rampant drug use throughout the prison would go ‘unnoticed or ignored’, she added.

A select committee heard drugs were rife in the prison with Labour MP Beth Winter saying ‘almost half of prisoners had easy access to drugs’.

She called for the Prison Service to take over the running of the jail following a spate of controversies and corruption allegations at the prison.

Although the trigger for the riots is not yet clear, it is believed that a ‘hostage situation’ took place, which prompted G4S to send in the tornado team to negotiate.

SouthWalesPolice previously said they had received reports of sudden deaths that have occurred at HM Prison Parc in Bridgend since 27th February.

A spokeswoman said at least four deaths are believed to be drug related.

Detective Steve Jones said: ‘At this stage we cannot confirm that the four deaths are connected to any specific drug however a fast-track process has been undertaken and identified the presence of Nitazene based substances in connection with all four deaths. Spice has been identified in two of the four deaths.

‘Postmortems have been completed on two of the four men and at this stage cause of death is inconclusive and we are awaiting toxicology. The other two men are awaiting a postmortem.’

Two of the men who died tested positive for Spice and officials say tests show a presence of ‘Nitazene based substances’ – dangerous synthetic opioids – were found in all four.

In a statement issued in March, the Prison and Probation Ombudsman Adrian Usher said: ‘After initial inquiries we now believe at least four out of the six deaths are drug-related.

‘These deaths likely involve spice (a psychoactive substance) mixed with another family of drugs.

‘There has been a national public health warning issued about this particular drug, the name of which is yet to be determined, but we believe that at least two of the deceased at HMP Parc had taken this substance. It is therefore likely the deaths are all spice-related.

‘We urge all prisoners who are in possession of spice to dispose of it immediately. This is a dangerous drug and we do not want to see any more unnecessary deaths occur.

‘Friends, family, next of kin, and staff in prison – please share this message as wide and as quickly as possible.’

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