BEDFORD prison has become the fifth jail to receive an urgent notification for improvement after inspectors found rampant violence, squalid conditions and spiralling self-harm.

Inspectors who visited HMP Bedford in late October and early this month found that it had the highest level of violence against staff and the third-highest rate of self-harm of any adult male prison in the country.

Staff use of force was also worryingly high, with inspectors seeing many examples of excessive force and unprofessional behaviour.