Disturbances quelled after staff attacked with pool balls and one officer taken to hospital

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Order has been restored after a siege at a Worcestershire prison during which a group of inmates took over part of a building, a Ministry of Justice spokeswoman has said.

Ten inmates caused staff to retreat from a wing of HMP Long Lartin on Tuesday evening while damaging part of the building. Prison staff were attacked with pool balls and one officer was taken to hospital after indirectly sustaining an injury during the incident.

A specialist unit of prison officers, known as a Tornado Team, were sent to the category A prison in an attempt to restore order.

An MoJ spokeswoman told PA Media the incident had been resolved and further details would be provided later.

Steve Gillan, the general secretary of the Prison Officers’ Association, had tweeted earlier: “At moment we do not know all the facts but we fully support all our members at Long Lartin who are clearly facing a difficult evening with a disturbance.”

HMP Long Lartin is one of five high-security “dispersal” establishments and holds some of the most dangerous offenders in the country. The high-security prison has the capacity for 622 inmates and is believed to hold about 500.

According to a 2018 report into the prison following a serious disturbance involving 81 prisoners, about 75% of the inmates were serving life sentences. A quarter of all inmates were classed as category A or high-security offenders.