PRISONERS are becoming drug addicts while serving their sentences and then being discharged with dependency problems, an inspection of HMP Lindholme has found.

A Prisons Inspectorate report on the jail near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, said that drugs were being delivered by drones and that there were no X-ray machines or searches at the prison gate.

Inspectors also found that the prison’s excellent gym facilities were underused due to a shortage of instructors and that activity programmes were non-existent for the same reason.

Prisoners are also being discharged without training to readjust to life in the community, the report says.

The inspectors said that 21 per cent of prisoners had told of developing a drug problem since arriving at Lindholme and half said it was easy to get hold of drugs.

“As well as being the cause of most deaths at the prison in recent years, drugs had also been responsible for debt problems that drove the higher than average and increasing levels of violence,” the report said.

The inspectors also criticised lack of training and activity programmes.

HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor said: “This was a really worrying inspection of a prison fundamentally failing to deliver … with some potentially very dangerous men and arguably allowing the risks to heighten by failing to get on top of a really serious drug problem.”

Howard League for Penal Reform chief executive Andrea Coomber said the lack of support at Lindholme was “so desperate that men are developing drug problems while living in the prison.”

She added that Lindholme ought to be able to provide “purposeful activity” for inmates.

A Prison Service spokesperson said it was taking “decisive action” to address the serious issues raised in the report, including bolstering security and drug detection technology.