Girls' prison conditions `unlawful'

GIRLS AND young women are being held illegally in a prison where inmates are still "slopping out" - a practice which was supposed to have ended years ago, a report warned yesterday.

An inspection of Brockhill women's prison in Redditch, Worcestershire, found that under-21s were being held in adult prison cells.

The Chief Inspector of Prisons, Sir David Ramsbotham, said it contravened a legal ruling two years ago that young prisoners should be held in designated accommodation and suggested the inmates could be being held illegally.

Sir David also criticised lavatory arrangements at the prison, where chamber pots are sometimes used overnight.