Two prison officers hurt in brawl at Low Moss Prison in Scotland

The incident took place at Low Moss Prison, East Dunbartonshire (Getty)

Two wardens have been taken to hospital during a seven-hour brawl at the residential wing of Scotland’s newest jail.

Police are investigating the cause of the incident, which took place on Saturday afternoon at Low Moss Prison, East Dunbartonshire. A number of inmates are thought to have barricaded themselves in cells.

The injured staff were taken to hospital as a precaution and later returned to the prison in Bishopbriggs. The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) said it was “now a police matter”.

By early on Sunday staff had managed to regain control of the residential hall, which comes little more than a week after a report revealed that prisoners at the new jail carried out 165 assaults on fellow inmates and staff last year.

An inspection report on Low Moss stated that in 2012-13 there were 15 serious attacks by prisoners on other criminals being held in the jail. There were a further 140 assaults by inmates on inmates, and 10 assaults on prison staff. The report by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons David Strang said Low Moss had “appropriate staffing levels” to “ensure good order is maintained”.

The prison received its first inmates in March 2012 and at the time the SPS described the complex as “state-of-the-art”.