An HMP Northumberland prison guard has been suspended.
A jail source claims the male officer was placed on leave after it emerged he took his baton home.
The unnamed member of staff said: "It seems like he has accidentally took his extendable baton home, and now they could be looking to sack him for it.
"It would be quite easy to walk out with the gate with it on though, as they are kept by their side."
The privately-operated Category C jail has been plagued with problems since it was placed into the control of Sodexo in December 2013.
Staff smuggling drugs, violence and 'spice'-fuelled chaos have all sparked calls for the jail to put back into state control.
Recently, we exclusively revealed how guards took a serial rapist to a KFC during a prison transfer.
However, watchdogs have noted improvements at the jail which even hired a violence reduction manager in a bid to help cut the number of incidents at the troubled jail.
An HMP Northumberland spokesperson said: “We can confirm that a member of staff is currently suspended."
