Armed prisoners sparked a major protest at Scotland's young offenders jail, forcing part of the facility into lockdown, the Sunday Mail can reveal.
Bosses at HMP & YOI Polmont in Falkirk were forced to lock down an entire section of the jail on Friday night after prisoners armed with homemade weapons launched a protest. The disturbance was understood to be linked to activities prisoners had been unable to access that day.
Lockdown lasted several hours
The section remained locked down for several hours as staff worked to bring the incident under control.
A source said: "It was a major incident and a large section had to be locked down, the prisoners had made weapons and were not backing down.
"It is not the first time the guards have lost control and situations like these are going to happen again so long as the prison service is under funded."
Incident resolved by prison staff
The Sunday Mail understands no other agencies were called to the jail and the incident was eventually brought to a safe conclusion by prison staff.
A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: "I can confirm a protest took place at HMP & YOI Polmont on Friday and was resolved safely and securely by SPS staff.
"The health and safety of those in our care, and our staff, was a key priority throughout."
