For thousands of young men sentenced to punishment at Medomsley Detention Centre, the nightmare began on their arrival at the front gates.
Many were greeted with a punch when asked their name by an officer, simply for failing to address them as “Sir” in their response, according to a damning report into historical abuse at the notorious Durham facility.
Sadly, this was only the beginning, as the young men were forced to endure a gruelling regime of beatings, humiliation, chores and punishing physical drills.
Hundreds were also raped and molested by serial sexual predators, including the “worst sex offender in history” Neville Husband, who would target two or three victims a day in the centre’s kitchens.
The brutal treatment left some suicidal or prepared to eat glass in a desperate bid to be moved to hospital.
Harrowing firsthand accounts recounted in a 202-page report by the prison and probation ombudsman Adrian Usher, published on Wednesday, laid bare the reality of life inside Medomsley, which housed low-level offenders aged from 17 to 21 between 1961 and 1987.
Men and boys were sent to detention centres for crimes including shoplifting, non-payment of fines and robbery, as part of a Margaret Thatcher-era policy of hitting offenders with a “short, sharp shock”. One was sent there for stealing biscuits, and another for taking a coat from the back of a car.
After their arrival, trainees were strip-searched and forced to wash in a metal bath – which would be filled with two inches of either freezing cold or scalding hot water, witnesses said.
During their stay, men and boys were unlocked at 6.30am and immediately made to run around the compound before washing and shaving. They had to complete a daily work detail as well as a gruelling regime of physical instruction.
This included running a two-mile course known as “the fence”, and was so physically demanding that many resorted to desperate measures to avoid it, including breaking bones, swallowing glass, or drinking Brasso in the hope of being sent to hospital.
One survivor said: “I remember while I was in the hospital wing, there was a big lad in the bed over the way from me. I think he was there because he drank a bottle of Brasso.
“I had seen him getting kicked all over because he was overweight, and he couldn’t do the fitness in there.”
Another recalled: “I also saw lads jump off a bunk onto someone’s leg to smash it. I heard it break. When someone managed to break a bone, they were taken out and not seen again.”
A third said: “I saw inmates eat glass and nails, break a razor and swallow the blades, anything to try and get out of [Medomsley] and into hospital.”
However, even those who were unwell did not escape the abuse, with a number of witnesses saying that if someone was ill, a painkiller would be taped to their forehead and they would be told to run around until the pill had dissolved.
Beatings and physical abuse could happen at any time, with trainees often targeted for being perceived as gay or weak, or being subjected to racist abuse.
One survivor said he was standing in line when an officer approached him from behind and punched him hard in the kidneys.
“The pain caused me to fall to the floor. As I went to stand back up, I put my hands on the floor to push myself up. My hand was in a sort of claw shape. [The officer] deliberately stamped on my hand, causing my little finger and ring finger to bend under my hand.
“I felt my fingers crunch and felt instant pain shoot up my arm. I told [the officer] he had just broken my fingers. He told me to shut up.”
Bunny hops – in which trainees were made to crouch down with their hands behind their heads and hop like a rabbit – were a form of exercise that was routinely used as a punishment.
One survivor said: “I was punched in the face by an officer... he told me to strip naked, then made me do ‘bunny hops’ naked down the corridor in front of the rest of the inmates.
“There was an officer at the top and bottom of the corridor, and they would kick [you] when you got to the end, or follow you up the corridor and kick you if you stopped.
“I was made to go up and down the corridor until I couldn’t do it any more. It was done to humiliate me, they would even point at my genitals and make fun of me just to add to the humiliation.”
The government apologised to survivors as it announced a new Youth Custody Safeguarding Panel, which will review complaints processes along with staff training, and ensure the voices of children in custody are heard.
Jake Richards, the minister for youth justice, said: “To the men who suffered such horrific abuse at Medomsley, I want to say again – I am truly sorry. The failings set out in today’s report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman are truly harrowing, and we must ensure nothing like this ever happens again.
“This government is establishing a Youth Custody Safeguarding Panel to review how we protect children in custody today. It will ensure their voices are heard, that complaints are taken seriously, and that every child is kept safe from harm.”
