Get the Echo newsletter - it has never been more important to stay informed Sign me up now Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

More than 30 criminals died while behind bars at one of Merseyside's most notorious jails.

Walton prison has been the scene of more self-inflicted deaths than all but one of the UK's prisons, in the past decade.

From 2012 to 2017 alone there were 31 deaths at the Hornby Road facility, 14 of which have now been confirmed as suicides.

This week a watchdog report raised serious concerns over the services available to inmates with potential mental health issues.

Last year inspectors branded the men's prison "the worst they had seen" and since then a new regime has been brought in to overhaul the jail.

But one year after that visit the tragedies have continued.

In the past month alone three inmates have died at HMP Liverpool, with each of those deaths sparking official investigations.

Ian Galtress was found dead at HMP Liverpool, on 14 October, just two weeks after 36-year-old Paul Jones also died in custody, on September 26.

And only last week, on October 24, prisoner Damien Anderson was found dead at the category B/C men's prison.

He had been in custody just 48 hours before his death.

A prison service spokesperson told The ECHO that the number of self-inflicted deaths and self-harm in prison "is too high".

But what is being done to change things for the better?

Here the ECHO takes a look at just some of the tragedies that have occurred behind bars, in the last three years, and what the prison service is doing to combat repeat incidents.

'Please don't jail my son'

Anthony Paine was found hanged in his cell at HMP Liverpool on February 19, 2018.

The 35-year-old, known as Tony, was jailed for 18 months after an incident in September, 2017.

He had been in the Walton jail for five months and was due to be released in two weeks, when he was found hanging in his cell.

He died shortly afterwards in hospital.

Anthony was jailed for affray and endangering the public after climbing onto a roof and throwing down tiles.

His mum Janet Paine, said her son was suffering from a psychotic episode during the incident.

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

And one week before he was sentenced, his mum pleaded for the judge to consider sectioning her son, rather than jailing him.

However her pleas were not acted upon and Anthony was ordered to serve his time at HMP Liverpool.

During his sentence he twice attempted to take his life, which he told his mum about in chilling letters from prison.

Janet contacted prison officials, scared for her son's safety and subsequently Tony was put on a watchlist for hourly status checks having been identified as a suicide risk.

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

But, despite being monitored he succeeded in taking his own life in his cell days later.

Mrs Paine said all of the warning signs were there for prison bosses to see - from his history of mental health issues to his self harm behind bars.

HMP Liverpool was the subject of a damning inspection in September 2017, with a watchdog describing the jail as one of the worst inspectors had ever seen.

One of the most damning aspects of the report, which led to a change of leadership, was the prison’s failure to deal with vulnerable inmates.

'He wanted help but was let down by the system'

Lee Rushton was discovered in his cell at HMP Liverpool in Walton, just hours before a video-link court hearing.

A jury inquest ruled the 24-year-old’s death was accidental and that Mr Rushton had not intended to end his life, and that his deteriorating mental health was exacerbated by neglect.

In a hard-hitting verdict, it was found there was a failure to give Mr Rushton proper medical attention, he was not given a sufficient mental health assessment and question marks remained over the placing of a vulnerable prisoner in a single-person cell, at the Hornby Road facility.

It was also found he had been denied the chance to telephone anybody and inadequate attempts were made to address his drug dependency issues.

Lee Rushton, from Wigan, had been remanded in custody on an harassment charge and also faced a prosecution for stealing a Poppy Appeal box from a pub, on Remembrance Day.

Following his tragic death in 2015, his mum Sue Rushton, told the ECHO: “Lee wanted help, but he was let down by the system.

"He was assessed when he first went into prison, but didn’t get the assistance he required.

“Lee would never have taken his own life and left his little boy, who is just one-years-old.

"He would never have voluntarily left his son, it was a cry for help.

“He doted on him, everything was for him. Now, he’ll never get to see him grow up.”

After the inquest into Mr Rushton's death, Coroner Andre Rebello compiled a Prevention of Future Deaths report which was sent to appropriate authorities.

At the time the Ministry of Justice said they recognised the failings, and were training more staff who would be able to identify inmates at Walton jail, in need of mental health assistance.

'Warned staff he would be dead'

Prisoner Edwin O'Donnell was found hanged in his cell at HMP Liverpool after repeatedly warning staff "he would be dead"

However an inquest recorded the 26-year-old's death as "accidental contributed to by neglect".

The Warrington man had been in segregation for the three weeks leading up to his death as punishment for starting a cell fire.

He died just weeks after having his prison sentence extended for his part in an attack on an inmate, in HMP Liverpool in April 2016.

During his time in prison Ned, as he was known by friends and family, had repeatedly set his cell on fire and two days before his death deliberately cut his ear with a razor blade.

He also frequently told staff he would "soon be dead" and on the morning of his death he spoke to jail staff and claimed other officers “would kill him that night” and he would be dead by 8pm.

A mental health appointment had been requested for him before his death.

Edwin's mum Melanie Cooper said he son was "let down" before his death in prison - where he was serving six years for attempted robbery and assault.

Ms Cooper, 45, told the ECHO following the inquest: “Ned was just left even when people were telling them he wasn’t well.

“The system let him down, and it’s so so sad. If they’d communicated better, he’d still be here today.

“Ned just wanted to make people laugh, he had a heart of gold.

“He was a beautiful child. I can start to grieve properly for him now and hopefully this will stop another family going through this.”

The jury ruled that Edwin did not intend to end his own life and identified ‘gross failings’ in his care at HMP Liverpool.

"Died during a 140 day sentence"

Carl Newman died in custody soon after being recalled to prison.

The 23-year-old was sentenced to 140 days in prison on 21 March 2017, after being convicted of motoring offences.

However following his release he failed to comply with his licence conditions and was recalled to prison.

He was found dead in prison, on October 6, 2017.

The month before his death an unannounced inspection found prisoners were living in squalid conditions with cockroaches, filthy toilets and damp-ridden walls.

An inquest into the death of Carl Newman is yet to take place.

A pre-inquest review of his case was heard earlier this year.

"Strong thoughts of self harm and intention to end his life"

Sam Molyneux was found hanged in his cell after informing jail staff about bullying and his “strong thoughts” of self-harm.

The HMP Liverpool prisoner died on April 1, 2016, despite efforts by prison staff and paramedics to resuscitate him.

Liverpool Coroners Court heard that five days before his death the 21-year-old was assaulted by fellow inmates and was treated for a superficial injury to his left hand.

In the weeks leading up to his death, Sam had also warned officials of his intention to end his life and had made previous attempts to self-harm, Liverpool Coroner’s Court heard.

However he was not on a special monitoring list, known as an “Assessment, Care in Custody Teamwork (ACCT)” document, so his deteriorating mental health could be more-closely monitored.

He had previously been monitored by ACCT, during other stints in prison - but had not been before his death.

An inquest heard how he had a number of previous convictions and had been in and out of prison since 2001.

Just two days before his was found hanged, he had climbed onto a netting platform on the prison wing, and was heard expressing concerns over his own mental health.

He was also known to barricade himself into his cell.

Two failings at HMP Liverpool were identified at the inquest, including the absence of an anti-barricade doors at the entrance to his cell, which Coroner Andre Rebello said should always be made available to at-risk prisoners.

And the fact he was not being monitored for his mental health by the ACCT.

'War veteran had PTSD'

War veteran John Duffey hanged himself at Walton jail after a battle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The 44-year-old suffered with PTSD following tours in Northern Ireland and was discovered hanging in his cell on July 16, 2016.

An inquest into his death found that bullying, debt and drug use at the jail worsened the conditions, that led the former army corporal to take his own life.

He had previously served with the Royal Green Jackets but was discharged on medical grounds.

He had previously made two attempts to kill himself in 2000 and 2011.

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

Since leaving the military and whilst dealing with his mental health issues, John fell into a pattern of alcohol and drug abuse.

And in 2015 he was remanded into custody to HMP Liverpool.

While behind bars he participated in an intensive six month scheme for “at-risk” prisoners but an inquest heard how staff were not equipped to provide treatment for PTSD.

No attempts were made by the prison or healthcare team to contact Mr Duffey’s Merseycare support worker in the community, the court was told.

The inquest was told how Mr Duffy also fell into debt with other prisoners, which led to bullying and threats which he reported to staff.

However his mental health continued to deteriorate when he got addicted to drug Spice.

And months later he was found dead in his cell.

A jury found the lack of a PTSD specialist at HMP Liverpool was a “missed opportunity”.

What is being done about deaths behind bars at HMP Liverpool?

A Prison Service spokesperson said: “Prisons should be places of safety and reform, and the number of self-inflicted deaths and self-harm in prison is too high.



“We are rolling out new training for staff on suicide and self-harm prevention - and more than 80% of staff at Liverpool have completed this.



“We know the early days in prison are the hardest and we have been working to improve support for prisoners in their early days and weeks.

"We are rolling out a ‘key worker’ scheme which ensures each prisoner has dedicated support from a particular prison officer and have funded the Samaritans helpline for a further three years.”

The prison service spokesperson added that individual support is given to prisoners through the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork case management system.

And the system is one that they say is "provided every day" for prisoners identified as being at risk of self-harm or suicide.

Every death in custody is fully investigated by the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, followed by an inquest by an independent coroner.

The service added that it "learns from any recommendations made by the PPO and coroner so that mistakes are not repeated".