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The chief inspector of prisons has raised concerns about young adults on remand being held together with adult prisoners at Holme House prison in the north-east, writes Clare Jerrom.

Anne Owers said that without rigorous supervision and risk assessments they could be exposed to harm.

She said some young prisoners were held in the vulnerable prisoner unit, with adults, some of whom were sex offenders. Staff had drawn the inspection team’s attention to one example of the potential ‘grooming’ of a young prisoner.

“The practice of holding young prisoners, particularly those who are vulnerable and may previously have been exposed to abuse, on adult vulnerable prisoner units is inherently unsafe and should cease,” Owers said in the inspection report.

There was no specific regime for the remanded 18-20-year-olds, the report found. The prison was operating under considerable pressures because of numbers, and anti-bullying strategies were undeveloped, it said.