Ross Kemp revealed today how he lost the ability to speak after inhaling Spice while filming a new ITV prison documentary at HMP Belmarsh.

The 55-year-old presenter breathed in a tiny amount of residue left in a vape by a comatose inmate at the high-security jail in Thamesmead, South East London.

The form of the drug Kemp inhaled during six months of filming at the prison is called Man Down, which is a mixture of aluminium cleaner and insect killer.

It comes amid a Spice epidemic in UK jails with an ambulance called to one every 42 minutes, and the drug becoming more potent since possession was outlawed.

Kemp also met far-Right activist Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who spent nine weeks at Belmarsh after being jailed for contempt of court.

Ross Kemp lost the ability to speak after inhaling a tiny amount of Spice at HMP Belmarsh

Residue was left in a vape by a comatose inmate at the jail in Thamesmead, South East London

Prison officers and medical staff at HMP Belmarsh responded to a Code Blue, where a prisoner has difficulty breathing or is unconscious, following the incident involving Spice

His reaction is part of the new series Welcome To HMP Belmarsh which starts on ITV tomorrow at 9pm, giving cameras full access to the jail for the first time.

Kemp, who looked into how 120 officers oversee 900 inmates, told the Sun: 'I am rarely lost for words but as I turn to camera, I have lost the ability to speak.

How smoking a Spice joint is akin to smoking up to 100 with cannabis As addictive as heroin and crack, the drug costs just £5 per bag. Smoking a single Spice joint is akin to smoking up to 100 containing normal cannabis – and addiction can take hold in just three days. It has left addicts suffering severe psychotic episodes, hallucinations, vomiting and even seizures. Ministers outlawed possession of the Class B drug, but there is confusion amongst police over whether those caught with it can be arrested. Officers also say the drug has become more potent since supply shifted from shops to streets. A global drugs survey found that hospital admissions as a result of taking the herbal substance Spice have increased by over one-third since 2014. The drug's relative cheapness has also made spice popular among the homeless and in prisons. In Manchester, police and ambulance chiefs admitted they were struggling to cope with the number of call outs to spice users who were collapsing in the city centre daily. It is estimated that 96 per cent of the city's young homeless are hooked on the drug. It is also estimated that an ambulance is called to British jails every 42 minutes as a consequence of a spice epidemic in prisons. In 2018, ambulances were called 12,576 times, an increase from 6,677 in 2014, figures from England's ten ambulance services revealed. Such psychoactive substances have also been linked to a rise in violence against staff and inmates, prisoner blackouts, seizures and heart attacks. Each call-out costs about £300 so the bill for all incidents per year is over £4million. Advertisement

'My brain has gone blank, my hands are clammy and my mouth is dry. I have just inhaled a tiny amount of Spice residue left in a vape by a comatose prisoner.

'This particular version of the drug is known as Man Down - and it does exactly what it says on the tin. It is a potentially lethal combination of aluminium cleaner and insect killer, and the man who smoked it has collapsed.

'Prison officers and medical staff have responded to a Code Blue, where a prisoner has difficulty breathing or is unconscious.'

He said the prisoner was brought round by staff using citrus, which can take away some of Spice's effects, and shouted at Kemp: 'Get out of my f***ing cell.'

The presenter said the inmate could not remember meeting him when they spoke the next day, and told him of the drug: 'It takes me out of here for four days.'

In the documentary, Kemp said: 'So, it's a regular vape. Smells of burnt paper. I can actually feel that, and I can feel it.'

A prison guard told him to avoid taking too much, adding: 'You barely touched it though, did you, you barely even took...?'

Kemp continued: 'No, I went like that, and literally I can feel that.. yeah, just like a bit... there you go, couldn't actually speak then.

'It's shocking to think that a tiny piece of paper can have such a disruptive effect both on people's health and prison life.'

Kemp went inside for six months to learn about life inside Britain's most notorious jail which has housed the country's most dangerous and infamous convicts.

Cameras followed him as he explored how prisoners and staff cope with high-profile inmates, extremists and common criminals living side-by-side.

He went inside the High Security Unit – the only 'prison within a prison' in England and Wales - and learned how Belmarsh tries to rehabilitate inmates.

Kemp also saw how the prison coped with a violent protest outside, gaining a close insight into life for staff and prisoners while it goes into lockdown.

Kemp also meets far-Right campaigner Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who served nine weeks at HMP Belmarsh after being jailed for contempt of court

ITV cameras go inside HMP Belmarsh, which is the most high-security prison in Britain

The first episode looks at the UK's only Contingency Suite, a unit designed to hold high-profile prisoners deemed at risk of suicide or attack by other inmates.

The unit has been home to the likes of Soham killer Ian Huntley, black cab rapist John Worboys and hate preacher Anjem Choudary.

Head of prisoner safety Adrian Knight said: 'The windows are sealed so you can't get around the bars. [He has] his own shower facilities.

'It's about what we need to do to keep prisoners and obviously the person down here safe. Or to keep them from having access to people they might be able to influence in some way.

Kemp (right) meets Muhammad Asif Hafeez (left), known as Sultan, the alleged mastermind of a drug-smuggling empire, during a visit to HMP Belmarsh's High Security Unit

Kemp's visit to HMP Belmarsh gives cameras full access to the jail in London for the first time

'And then obviously you've got the exercise yard, which is self-contained. Not very nice, but yeah.'

Prison staff told how a sharp rise in gang crime outside the walls has led to a major increase in violence and serious containment issues for the prison.

Custodial manager Jamie Scammel said: 'It's all either possibly gang related before they came into prison, or someone that they've got conflict with on another house block.

'For example the historical conflict from outside: assaults, assaults, fighting, fighting, historical conflict. The level of violence is increasing, it's just causing concern. Staff safety is obviously at risk. Prisoner safety is at risk as well.'

HMP Belmarsh was the first male prison to be built in London for more than a century when it opened in 1991.

The high-security jail in Thamesmead houses some of the most dangerous prisoners in Britain

There has been a major increase in violence and serious containment issues for the prison

It has its own guard dog unit, a bomb-proof tunnel linking it to Woolwich Crown Court and the High Security Unit, with its own 20ft-high concrete wall and doors opened remotely by central control.

Kemp said: 'It houses some of the most dangerous prisoners in Britain. No film crew has ever been granted access to it before, but I'm on my way in there now.'

Previous occupants have included KGB agents, train robber Ronnie Biggs and Charles Bronson – and Ross interviews one prisoner, Muhammad Asif Hafeez.

Known as the Sultan, he is the alleged mastermind of a drug-smuggling empire and is facing extradition to the US, where he could face up 30 years in prison if convicted.

Kemp meets a number of inmates while going inside Britain's most notorious prison

Kemp's new documentary Welcome To HMP Belmarsh starts on ITV tomorrow night at 9pm

Deep within the HSU lies its own segregation unit known as 'The Box', which has no beds, no sinks, no toilets and no access to water.

When HSU governor Helen Bicker briefly shuts Kemp in, he said: 'HSU feels oppressive to begin with but this has magnified it a hundred times.

'There's definitely that feeling that you are completely alone. I don't think I could spend an hour in here without going round the twist.'

Kemp also learns a unique course is trying to change the lives of some of Belmarsh's most dangerous offenders - gang members - by putting them together in the same room.

One prisoner said: 'I don't wanna be broke, I don't wanna come home and have no TV. I never had that push, that extra push. I feel like if I had someone there behind me, backing me I wouldn't be here right now.'

There are 120 officers overseeing 900 inmates at HMP Belmarsh in South East London

Kemp at the entrance to the 'prison within a prison' at the HMP Belmarsh High Security Unit

Deputy governor Jenny Louis said: 'These are individuals who are dangerous, we're talking about gun crime, knife crime, offences that have taken peoples' lives.

'A number of people wouldn't want to even be in their company. I'm not saying that this is a miracle because it's not, but break down those barriers and you get to know who they are. They want to change.'

Mr Knight added: 'We will take anyone. We've had war criminals in here for genocide. There's not one prisoner in the country that we won't take.

'We've got 17 convicted terrorists, 187 murderers, prisoners that have killed three or four people.'

Welcome to HMP Belmarsh with Ross Kemp starts on ITV tomorrow at 9pm

EDL founder Tommy Robinson moans to Ross Kemp about life in solitary confinement in his cell stuffed with biscuits, sweets and boasts of seeing Julian Assange through window

Tommy Robinson complained to Ross Kemp about life in solitary confinement while serving nine weeks at HMP Belmarsh for breaking court rules.

The far-Right activist from Luton, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also cried as he told the presenter how he was looking forward to returning home to his children.

Robinson also revealed he had seen Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, a fellow inmate, through a window at the prison in Thamesmead, South East London.

He spoke to Kemp for a new ITV documentary while being held in the Contingency Suite, which is designed to keep prisoners separate for their own safety.

Cameras showed how he had a stash of food to keep him going, including Jaffa cakes, apple juice, chocolate eclairs, tuna chunks, Coco Pops and Ready Brek.

Kemp said he was 'reluctant' to speak to Robinson, but wanted to ask him why he had put out a call on social media for people to demonstrate outside the prison.

Robinson replied: 'Essentially, I wanted to make sure that I have my rights. I know what ten weeks of solitary confinement does - it's not good for you.'

Ross Kemp met Tommy Robinson at HMP Belmarsh while he sat in solitary confinement

But Kemp said: 'It's not solitary confinement as in terms of the 'cooler' - it's not a box with nothing in it.

'You've got a TV, you've got a kettle, but also do you not think by calling a demonstration that could possibly end in violence, that's helping your cause?'

Robinson insisted: 'It sends a message to the establishment that this doesn't work.'

However, Kemp replied: 'What do you think the other inmates are going to feel about you if they can hear people screaming for you to be let out or freed?

Kemp said he was 'reluctant' to speak to Robinson, but wanted to ask him why he had put out a call on social media for people to demonstrate outside the prison

'Do you not think that's going to provoke some of the inmates? That's the concern the prison has. Staff that would have been off on the weekend are now working.'

But Robinson hit back, saying: 'What they usually hear is Muslims shouting about Islam.'

Kemp then visited Robinson again at the end of his time at the prison, asking him: 'So how have you enjoyed Belmarsh?'

Robinson – by this time sporting a beard – told him: 'This has been as best as could possibly be being locked on my own for months.

Cameras showed how Robinson had a stash of food to keep him going, including Jaffa cakes, apple juice, chocolate eclairs, tuna chunks, Coco Pops and Ready Brek

'I haven't been in Belmarsh, I haven't looked around, I haven't seen another prisoner. I've seen Julian Assange through the window.

'I just walked round there and Julian Assange's window is at the top. Jesus man, I'm trying to get my head round through what he's going through. You can't, can you?'

Kemp then asked him: 'How are you feeling right now? You seem very emotional.'

Robinson, who started crying, replied: 'I'd say that my thing is because I know I'm going home to my kids and you just want to be normal.'

Robinson said he knows 'what ten weeks of solitary confinement does - it's not good for you'

Looking lost for words, he moved towards the corner of his cell and said: 'Yeah, that's embarrassing.'

Last July, after he was jailed, a mob of Robinson's supporters marched on Parliament, setting off smoke bombs and attacking police.

The shocking scenes of violence erupted after Robinson was handed nine months in prison for breaking court rules.

The English Defence League founder winked at supporters at the Old Bailey as he was sentenced.

Kemp then visited Robinson again at the end of his time at the prison, asking him: 'So how have you enjoyed Belmarsh?'

Robinson, 36, jeopardised a child sex grooming trial in May 2018 by flouting a reporting ban to broadcast footage of defendants entering Leeds Crown Court.

On July 11 last year, he was locked up for 'reckless disobedience of an important court order' and encouraging 'vigilante action'.

But he only had to be behind bars for nine-and-a-half weeks because of the time he has already served.

A large crowd reacted angrily to the sentence, pelting police with drinks bottles and cans as they chanted: 'We want Tommy out.'

Robinson, who started crying, said: 'I'd say that my thing is because I know I'm going home to my kids and you just want to be normal'

Protesters then marched to Parliament, setting off smoke bombs and burning European Union flags.

Robinson further stoked the violence, using instant messaging service Telegram shortly before his sentencing, to call for a demonstration outside the prison where he was being taken.

He said: 'Hopefully by this Saturday, I'm laying there in my cell and I can just hear all your voices outside whichever s******* HMP I'm in.'

To the fury of judges, Robinson spent so long addressing his supporters outside court that he was ten minutes late for the sentencing.

Looking lost for words, Robinson told Kemp of his emotion: 'Yeah, that's embarrassing'

High Court judge Dame Victoria Sharp, sitting with Mr Justice Warby, branded Robinson a liar and said he should be sent to prison for 'punishment and deterrence'.

During the offending 90-minute video live streamed on Facebook, Robinson approached defendants accused of the sexual exploitation of young girls in Huddersfield and encouraged followers to harass them - in defiance of a court reporting ban to protect future linked trials.

Robinson appeared nonplussed as he was sentenced. After the hearing, supporters shouted 'We love you, Tommy!' as his prison van left the building.

He was found in contempt after an extraordinary two-day hearing the previous week when supporters were given permission to turn the Old Bailey into a stage, erecting a video screen the length of a double decker bus in the street outside the court.

Robinson supporters outside the Old Bailey last July after he was jailed for contempt of court

To the outrage of lawyers, courtgoers and local businesses, the City of London Corporation granted permission for the giant platform, complete with a podium for Robinson to spout his views in front of a 150-strong crowd on the hearing's first day.

During the case, violence frequently erupted outside court and police arrested eight protestors aged 28 to 61 for affray and public order offences.

Attorney General Geoffrey Cox QC who brought fresh proceedings after Robinson successfully appealed against an earlier contempt ruling, said: 'The sentencing of Yaxley-Lennon serves to illustrate how seriously the courts will take matters of contempt.

'Posting material online that breaches reporting restrictions or risks prejudicing legal proceedings has consequences.'

Robinson supporters outside the Houses of Parliament in London after he was jailed last July

Nick Lowles, of campaign group Hope Not Hate, said Robinson 'put at risk the trial of men accused of horrendous crimes. He doesn't care about the victims of grooming.'

Ian Murray of the Society of Editors said it was a 'farce' that Robinson wore a T-shirt saying 'convicted of journalism' as he entered court.

He said: 'I am not aware that Robinson has any formal training as a journalist.

'Sadly there are people who wish to see the UK media emasculated and these sorts of claims are so obviously unfounded they provide ammunition to attack us with.'

Welcome to HMP Belmarsh with Ross Kemp starts on ITV tomorrow at 9pm