An Oxfordshire prison had inmates being bitten by “venomous false widow spiders”, according to a recent report. 

Findings published on Wednesday, November 27 laid bare the state of “crumbling” jails in England and Wales.

This included a catalogue of “appalling” conditions such as widespread rat infestations and floods of raw sewage.

At HMP Bullingdon in Bicester, inmates were reportedly being bitten by “venomous false widow spiders”,  although jail officials attributed this to disturbance caused by renovation work rather than a lack of cleanliness.

The details from Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB) – made up of volunteers tasked by ministers with scrutinising conditions in custody – have prompted concerns that the prison environment could be contributing to reoffending rates and hindering inmates reforming.

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HMP Bullingdon (Image: Contributed) Delayed maintenance and repairs had “serious safety implications at many prisons”, with broken windows and grilles meaning there was an “increased the risk of illicit items being smuggled into the prison”, the report said.

Delays in broken windows being replaced were making it easier in several jails for “drones to deliver items such as drugs and weapons to the prison”, according to the findings.

An “urgent” investigation to replace 800 insecure windows and sets of bars was launched after a prisoner was thought to have been killed by a weapon believed to have been smuggled in through a window at HMP Pentonville in 2016 and two inmates escaped through a cell window afterwards, but is yet to be completed eight years on.

It comes after the prisons watchdog likened high security jail HMP Garth near Lancashire to an “airport” because there were so many drones flying in drugs.

Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor also reportedly warned the surge in activity could see guns smuggled into jails dogged by drug gang wars.

IMB national chairwoman Elisabeth Davies said the findings paint a “stark picture” of the “crumbling prison estate” and highlight the “consequences of underinvestment and sticking-plaster solutions”, with prisoners expected to be reformed and rehabilitated in “appalling” conditions.

“It should serve as a warning against continuing down these paths”, she added.

The Prison Service is “barely able to cope” when jail spaces are taken out of action unexpectedly amid “decades of underinvestment”, she said.

The “inefficient spend” of the little money available is as problematic as the lack of investment, Ms Davies added as she highlighted examples of “huge investments in repairs and new facilities” which have later been found to be “unfit for purpose, or simply sit unused”.

Prisons minister Lord Timpson said: “This is a very concerning report that once again highlights the shocking extent of the prison crisis we inherited.

“The Government has already taken immediate action to address the crowding chaos engulfing our jails. We are now focusing on improving conditions in the long term so our prisons create better citizens, not better criminals.”