Fruit banned in bid to cut prison booze

A UK prison has come under fire from welfare campaigners after it cut down on fruit rations given to inmates, in a bid to cut down on the amount of illegal booze being made.

The BBC reported that prison officials at Lewes Prison, in East Sussex, made the decision to cut fruit rations as the amount of “hooch” circulating in the jail was becoming a “serious issue”.

Illicit alcohol production is a common problem in many prisons, but it became such a big issue at Lewes that at one stage officials upgraded the problem to a red alert issue.

The Howard League is a charity which backs penal reform and spokesman Mark Gettleson told the BBC that the decision to cut fruit rations was a backward step for prisons.

Gettleson said: “Prison food isn’t known for its nutritional value. By cutting further the small amount of nutritional food its inmates receive, Lewes prison is taking a backward step.

“The management’s focus should be on knowing what prisoners are up to, not on taking away one of the few healthy things that exist behind bars.”

A spokeswoman for the jail said: “This is a serious issue, which is why we took immediate action to tackle it.

“Our staff are extremely vigilant and use a range of measures to stop prisoners making or having access to illicit items.

“Anyone caught with such items is dealt with severely.”