Thirty-five prisoners enjoying life on the outside

THIRTY-FIVE prisoners who have absconded from Ford Prison since 2004-5 are still at large in the community '“ and some have been on the run for up to four years.

By The Newsroom

Published 4th Mar 2008, 15:49 BST

Updated 8th Jun 2018, 03:33 BST

The figures, which relate to September last year, show that four prisoners absconded in 2004-5 and have still not been caught, along with a further 14 in 2005-6, 13 in 2006-7 and four in 2007-8.

There are more absconders still at large from Ford than at any other prison, and it continues to have one of the highest abscondee rates of any jail in England and Wales.

The figures have come to light at a time of crisis for the Prison Service. UK prisons are severely overcrowded and the population reached a record high of 82,180 last week, more than 150 more than its operational capacity.

But in a new table, Ford is the seventh best out of 16 open prisons with an abscond rate of only 27.3 per cent compared to the worst one, Thorn Cross in Cheshire, which has a 79.6 per cent rate.

For full story, see West Sussex Gazette March 5