Forest Bank prison bans sale of sugar to stop inmates brewing 'hooch'

Bosses at Salford's troubled Forest Bank prison have banned the sale of bags of sugar from the canteen in a bid to tackle the production of illicit 'hooch' on the wings by inmates. Last month, managers decided to remove from sale 500g bags as part of a new effort to stop production of alcohol on the wings. Insiders remain doubtful the plan will work.

Last year, as part of an investigation into the privately-run jail by the Manchester Evening News, we revealed the scale of alcohol production. One inmate revealed to us that, out of the 60 cells on his wing, 12 of them were used for brewing alcohol. Tomatoes, ketchup, sugar and bread for the yeast were left to ferment in old, cleaned out two-litre drums under beds and beside radiators.

After five days, the hooch was decanted into old Vimto bottles then sold on the wing for £100 per litre.

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Today (Tuesday) prison bosses at Forest Bank confirmed the move and said it was part of a 'range of safeguarding tactics' at the jail to prevent violence. Some insiders, however, doubt it will work. One told the M.E.N: "It won't work because the prisoners will smuggle it back from the kitchens or throw it over the walls."

Another said: "It will be like throwing a water balloon at the sun." Both confirmed bags of sugar, which inmates could purchase weekly from the prison canteen, had been removed from sale three weeks ago.

The bags of were were supposed to be for sweet-toothed inmates who wanted sugar in the tea or coffee they can make in their cells. But they were being used to brew alcohol.

Inmates still get 'bru-packs' delivered to their cells every day and each one contains four sachets of sugar - not enough for making alcohol, but sufficient for sweetening a cup of tea.

An HMP Forest Bank spokesperson said: "As the health and safety of those who live and work at the prison is our top priority, we can confirm that we have introduced preventative measures against the brewing of illicit alcohol, including the removal of sugar from the canteen.

"Illicitly brewed alcohol can contribute to violence and crime in prison, so our staff are deploying a range of safeguarding tactics to tackle the issue effectively, and in line with similar action being taken across a number of prisons."

The jail has been beset by problems. In April last year, an M.E.N. investigation uncovered allegations of widespread drug use and inmates who 'run the wings', prompting an MP and Salford's mayor to write to the government to demand an 'urgent' review.

Our revelations included a call from Salford and Eccles MP Rebecca Long-Bailey for the Ministry of Justice to cancel the billion pound contract it has with Sodexo to run the jail.

Our investigation, based on allegations from a whistle-blower, an ex-prisoner and his father, and the family of a grandfather who died in his cell, exposed what Salford and Eccles MP Rebecca Long-Bailey branded a 'culture of lawlessness' at the jail.

The M.E.N. revealed that:

• Drugs are rife, smuggled in via 'legal letters' and inmates are 'off their t**s a lot of the time'

• Inmates brew their own hooch

• Violence is commonplace and inmates 'run the wings'

• Staff feel 'unsafe' and a lone guard can be 'left to guard 100-plus inmates'

• Staff have to buy 'their own uniform because of cost-cutting'

• A desperate father paid off a drug dealer on his addict son's wing because 'staff didn't protect him'

Sodexo's contract to run the prison ends on January 19, 2025. Back in 1998, it was awarded a deal worth £1,006,771,964 to design, build and run the prison built on the site of the former Agecroft power station under a private finance initiative to house a maximum 1,064 inmates. The deal was to last 25 years, before being extended.

Sodexo, founded and based in France, runs six prisons in England and Scotland, and in 2022 recorded revenues of 21.1bn euros, including 'underlying operating profit' of more than a billion euros, up 83 per cent.