Freed prisoners have described conditions inside HMP Forest Bank in Salford as the government began releasing 700 inmates to free up space in jails.
Some of a tranche of about 50 former inmates spoke to the Manchester Evening News moments after being released from the privately-operated Salford jail earlier this week.
They criticised conditions inside the privately-operated prison including having to eat beside loos in their cells, as freed inmates elsewhere thanked Prime Minister Andy Burnham whose government has sanctioned the latest early releases.
Inmates describe cramped cells and poor facilities
One released inmate, who said he had served two months for burglary and shoplifting, said: "I agree with the early release scheme. At the end of the day prisons are full of people who have served the majority of their sentence. You are literally in a tiny cell and two people and you can't even pass each other. And the toilet is right next to where you have to eat your food."
He said he had previously served time at Lancaster Farm, Northallerton, Altcourse and Preston prisons and that Forest Bank was 'the worst'.
"This is a sh**hole," he said.
Another, who identified himself as Dean, from Withington, said he had been given an eight-week prison sentence that had been suspended for 18 months, but was jailed after missing two appointments with a drug counsellor to deal with his methadone addiction.
Released seven days earlier than expected, he said: "I'm so buzzing. It's better than being in another week. There's big people in there, they've got, like, years off."
Prisoners unaware of sentencing changes
Dean said some prisoners were not aware of the changes in the sentencing rules. He said: "I've had to explain… people don't even know who Andy Burnham was. I think he's a really good prime minister. He's getting things done. He doesn't just give it all the talk. He gets things done."
Asked what he thought about public anger about prisoners being released early, Dean added: "I do agree with it to a certain degree, like."
Another former inmate, 47, said he was being released on licence following a 14-and-a-half year sentence for attempted murder, but not as part of the government's early release scheme.
Asked about conditions inside Forest Bank, he told the Manchester Evening News: "It's f***ing horrible mate. People are just trying to make the best of a bad situation."
"There are a lot of ex security people working as wardens and all they know is to bang the doors shut on the wings. They're not interested in helping and nothing gets done. They just bang you up. That's all they do, it's bang up everyone, bang up."
He said he had served stretches at Whitemoor and Long Lartin prisons and they were 'ten times better' than Forest Bank. "I was in a cell with another inmate that was 7ft wide and 10ft long. It was f***ing horrible."
He went on that he agreed with the government's early release scheme as prisons were 'overcrowded'.
Volunteers greet released inmates
The released prisoners - those without waiting family members - were greeted by volunteers from Samaritans who ferried the ex-cons to their destinations in a waiting van. The former inmates were also handed 'release packs', small black plastic bags filled with food such as Pot Noodle.
The release packs were handed out by another organisation, Old Lags Network. One volunteer for the group, John Astley, 55, said he had been released from prison in 2017 after serving a ten-year sentence for 'importation of drugs'.
John, who said he had served time at Forest Bank, said: "Being behind walls, we see what you don't see which is horrific sometimes and it's not what human people should do."
He went on that prisoners with mental health problems were getting 'no support once they are out' and that more government funding was required. "We have enough jails but we are putting the wrong people in jails," he said, adding that jail was a 'very easy place to live'.
He went on that 'criminals like me we bought the t-shirt' and that prison was 'our punishment'.
"But there's very little deterrent in jail," he went on, and that it was 'just like being inside with a lot of your mates'. It was also 'like a school' where the inmates 'learn' different ways to carry out 'criminal acts', he said.
Government defends release scheme
Some 5,000 prisoners are scheduled to be released in stages over the next year, down from 6,000 after ministers intervened to exclude rapists and the most serious child sex offenders in the wake of the policy dominating the headlines over the summer.
The Ministry of Justice said released offenders will be monitored under the "toughest supervision in British history".
Justice Secretary Alex Norris said: "We understand the anxiety victims face ahead of offenders' release dates, but the greatest danger to victims would be prisons running out of cells for dangerous criminals, which was the crisis this Government inherited.
"Our plan will make sure this never happens again by building 14,000 prison places while subjecting offenders to the toughest-ever controls, leaving them nowhere to hide and under no doubt that we are watching them."
Last year Sodexo was handed a new ten-year contract to operate HMP Forest Bank despite allegations of widespread drug use and inmates who 'run the wings'.
An HMP Forest Bank spokesperson said: "We operate in accordance with all required standards, including meeting mandatory legal standards for safety, physical decency and cleanliness for our cells under the Certified Prisoner Accommodation Policy Framework."
