HM Inspectorate of Prisons has described the 'squalid' state of HMP Liverpool, condemning the establishment for having the worst conditions inspectors have seen.

In one of its most scathing reports in recent years, the inspectorate described rats, drugs and 'decrepit' facilities at the Victorian prison in the city's Walton area.

Drones carrying drugs and other illicit items were described as a 'substantial problem', with staff recovering 32 of the gadgets in six months prior to the September inspection - a rate of more than one a week.

Concern over the conditions at Liverpool, a category B facility holding 1,115 men at the time of the inspection, first surfaced at the end of last year when details of the report were revealed by the BBC.