DRONES can be used to help jail inmates escape and to carry out weapon drops, the Prison Officers Association (POA) annual conference heard yesterday.

POA national chairman Mark Fairhurst warned that the unchecked use of drones has become a “national security issue,” with prison staff telling of the remote-controlled aircraft “going in and out like [at] Gatwick airport.”

Opening the meeting in Eastbourne, he said: “Drones are an imminent threat, not only to prisons but to national security.

“I was watching a video last week of a one-person drone, which is basically the same as a helicopter.

“We know there are drones out there that can carry a payload of 75kg and now we’ve got a drone that acts as a helicopter — that’s an escape attempt. So we need to sort it out.

“We know there’s technology out there which can block a drone from entering our airspace. [One] of the excuses we get is: ‘Well, technology advances.’

“There really is no excuse. We should be able to secure our airspace, because it’s only a matter of time before a firearm is flown in by a drone.

“We’ve already had two scares — two prisons in full lockdown searches.”

The conference backed calls for the installation of steel netting in prisons’ open areas and “geofence” electronic jammers — the latter are already in use at Jersey prison.

Delegates described government window-replacement schemes as useless as inmates simply break the windows again to allow aerial drops to resume.

HMP Bullingdon has seen more than 150 drone incidents in the past three months, with up to 20 in a single night, the conference heard.

National executive committee member Phil Hannant said: “It’s getting beyond ridiculous.”