Hundreds of inmates have been left needing medical treatment after being attacked inside one of Britain’s most brutal jails.
HMP Frankland in County Durham - home to Ian Huntley, Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe and Levi Bellfield - is branded ‘monster mansion’ due to the notorious inmates behind its walls.
But figures reveal that in the past three years the number of attacks at the site have been growing with 248 inmates needing onsite treatment after fights and stabbings at the jail.
The Ministry of Justice refused to reveal the number of inmates taken from the jail directly to hospital arguing it would lead to identification.
However, it did confirm that over a 40-month period there were at least 17 incidents that left inmates requiring serious treatment.
Among them was a December 2016 attack on serial killer Bellfield whose face was slashed with a homemade shank, narrowly avoiding his eye.
Bellfield, who kidnapped and murdered schoolgirl Millie Dowler as she walked home from school in Walton-on-Thames in 2002, was said to be lucky to be left with his sight and the wound needed stitches.
The sick killer, who is is believed to have attacked around 100 women over five years, refused to report the attack.
And in September 2018 the Yorkshire Ripper was spotted in Sunderland Royal Hospital .
There were at least five inmates taken to hospital in 2016 and 2018, while in 2016 62 inmates were left needing medical attention after being attacked, in 2017 there were 73 inmates who were treated in jail for their wounds and the number spiralled to 90 last year.
So far in 2019 23 inmates have been treated at the on site health centre for injuries, while at least two were taken to hospital for their injuries.
Mark Fairhurst, general secretary of the Prison Officers’ Association, blamed the attacks on reduced budgets and said prisons are ‘in crisis’.
He added: “The POA are not surprised by these shocking and shameful statistics.
“Prisons have been neglected and stripped to the bone by this Conservative Government since 2010.
“The slash and burn tactics by the treasury, under the austerity agenda as the government bailed out the banks at the expense of public services is now coming back to haunt them.
“The long term impact of these cuts on prisons is the reason why they are in crisis.”
A Prison Service spokesman said: “Violence in prisons is still unacceptably high which is why we’re spending an extra £70m to improve safety, decency and security and have recruited over 4,700 more prison officers since late 2016.
“Those who commit assaults face more time behind bars.”
