By JAYA NARAIN

Last updated at 19:58 16 August 2007

A recovering heroin addict walked out of an open prison to escape the culture of drug-taking among inmates.

Shaun Melfah claimed he was so worried he might succumb to the temptation of freely available drugs that he decided to leave halfway through his sentence.

Police found the burglar living at his home address five days later. He was returned to a higher security jail to serve the rest of his sentence.

The case brought scathing criticism from a judge for Leyhill Prison in Gloucestershire for failing to tackle its drug culture.

Recorder Michael Parroy QC spoke out at Gloucester Crown Court after Melfah appeared before him to admit absconding.

"I take into account your plea of guilty to the escape charge and I accept that regrettably this open prison has a serious drug problem," he told Melfah. "You didn't want to be part of it and went home.

"I remember that not long ago a number of other prisoners did the same thing."

The prison - from which more than 500 inmates have absconded in the past ten years - is one of 13 open prisons in the UK.

Melfah, 24, who says he is still clean of drugs, was sentenced to an extra two months imprisonment on top of the 14-month sentence he must complete after he was convicted of three counts of theft.

Steve Young, defending, said his client had initially been placed in traditional prisons, Gloucester Prison and Erlestoke in Wiltshire, where drug-taking was stamped on.

But Melfah was later transferred to Leyhill. Mr Young said his client had weaned himself off heroin and did not want to go there.

"He expressed a strong wish not to go to Leyhill because he had a history of drug misuse, had dealt with it and was drug-free," said Mr Young.

"But he heard that drugs were more rife there than in traditional jails. When he got to Leyhill he found that was true. Drugs were being used frequently and he was coerced and tempted.

"He asked to be moved back to Erlestoke but was refused. He felt that unless he did something, he would lapse back. He voted with his feet and went home.

"During all that time he never gave into the temptation to take drugs again. He is still clean.

"This is not the first time that prisoners have left Leyhill for similar reasons."

Last year, a former inmate of Leyhill-said drug and alcohol abuse were rife.

"It's like a holiday camp," he said. "The only thing it doesn't have is a swimming pool.

"You can get any drugs. It's easier to get them inside than it is outside. I saw lads who didn't do drugs become addicted to heroin and all sorts while they were there.

"You have day release, which many people just don't come back from, and a key to let yourself in and out of your room."

Figures released showed that 393 offenders have escaped from Leyhill since Labour came to power in 1997, with 25 still not detained.

Earlier this year, Cotswolds MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown called for an urgent review of security at the jail, after it was revealed that 50 of its current inmates were classed as being "high risk" or "very high risk" offenders.