HM Prison Leyhill is a Category D men's prison, located in the parish of

Tortworth Tortworth is a small village and civil parish, near Thornbury in Gloucestershire, England. It has a population of 147 as of 2011. It lies on the B4509 road, which crosses the M5 motorway to the west of Tortworth. History In the Domesday Book o ...

in Gloucestershire, England. Leyhill Prison is operated by

His Majesty's Prison Service His Majesty's Prison Service (HMPS) is a part of HM Prison and Probation Service (formerly the National Offender Management Service), which is the part of His Majesty's Government charged with managing most of the prisons within England and Wal ...

History

Leyhill Prison was originally a United States military hospital built for the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. The site was converted into a prison in 1946, with inmates originally being housed in hutted accommodation. The prison was rebuilt in the late 1970s to early 1980s, and in 1986 prisoners were re-housed in new living accommodation. In 2002 new accommodation units were added to increase the prison's capacity. In a March 2002 report,

Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons is the head of HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the senior inspector of prisons, young offender institutions and immigration service detention and removal centres in England and Wales. The current chief inspe ...

criticised Leyhill for failing to prepare inmates for release, stating that too little was being done to help inmates get ready for the pressures of life outside. The report also claimed that staff had no clear idea of their role at the prison. In May 2006, it was revealed that more than one inmate a week was absconding from Leyhill. Statistics showed that 66 prisoners had walked out of Leyhill in the 2005/06 financial year. The Prison Service claimed the number of escapes was down to population pressures in the UK prison estate, with less trustworthy prisoners being transferred to open prisons like Leyhill.

The prison today

Leyhill is a prison for adult male prisoners of Category D status, meaning that either a Parole Board or the Prison Service has deemed them suitable for Open conditions. At the time of the last inspection in September 2016, more than 60% of the prisoners at Leyhill were convicted Sex Offenders, and the prison were planning to increase this to around 90% by June 2017. Leyhill was strongly criticised for failing to properly manage the risks posed by this population, and not assisting enough with effective resettlement. Leyhill runs a variety of courses designed to help prisoners prepare for release. These include a general joinery

woodwork Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first mater ...

shop (offering

City & Guilds The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies – to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has ...

qualifications in Woodwork); a printing shop; a commercial laundry; Industrial

Cleaning Cleaning is the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment. Cleaning is often performed for aesthetic, hygienic, functional, environmental, or safety purposes. ...

and Car-Valeting training;

Waste Management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitorin ...

and

Recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The Energy recycling, recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability t ...

training; and

Forklift truck A forklift (also called lift truck, jitney, hi-lo, fork truck, fork hoist, and forklift truck) is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances. The forklift was developed in the early 20th century by various ...

and

Tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commo ...

Training. The prison's farms and gardens also provide work and training for prisoners on a 55-hectare estate, including extensive ornamental grounds. There is a nationally important

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

run in conjunction with the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also resp ...

; it is often open to the public. As an open prison a number of prisoners at Leyhill are placed in the community to complete work and training placements. These placements are designed with the focus of improving a prisoner's chance of successful resettlement in the community on release. In November 2016 three potentially violent prisoners absconded.

Notable inmates

Ali Dizaei Jamshid Ali Dizaei ( fa, جمشید علی دیزایی, transliteration: ''Jamshīd ʿAlī Dizaī''; ) (born 1962) is a former Commander in London's Metropolitan Police Service, Iranian-born with dual nationality, and formerly one of Britain's ...

, the former Metropolitan Police commander *

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

footballers Steve Brooker,

Bradley Orr Bradley James Orr (born 1 November 1982) is an English retired footballer. Career Newcastle United & loans Born in Liverpool, Merseyside, Bradley Orr started his senior career with Newcastle United, and was loaned out to Burnley due to lack o ...

and David Partridge spent their short prison sentences at Leyhill for their part in a nightclub brawl. *

Charlie Elphicke Charles Brett Anthony Elphicke (born 14 March 1971) is a British politician, former solicitor and convicted sex offender. As a member of the Conservative Party and later an independent, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dover from 201 ...

, former

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

MP who was convicted for sexual assault, was released from the prison in 2021. *

Leslie Grantham Leslie Michael Grantham (30 April 1947 – 15 June 2018) was an English actor, best known for his role as "Dirty" Den Watts in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. He was a convicted murderer, having served 10 years for the killing of a West ...

, served the final part of a sentence for murder at Leyhill before being released in 1977 and going on to land himself numerous roles as a TV actor, most notably as

Den Watts Dennis "Den" Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den". Den was the original landlord of The Queen Victoria public house fr ...

in ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' *

T. Dan Smith Thomas Daniel Smith (11 May 1915 – 27 July 1993), also known by his nickname “Mr Newcastle”,"Southern Discomfort" (leading article), ''The Times'', 3 August 1993. was a high-profile British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who ser ...

, the Newcastle politician disgraced by the Poulson affair (it was Smith who encouraged Grantham to go into acting on his release) * Luke McCormick, (Former

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park ...

captain and England youth goalkeeper), served seven years and four months for two counts of Death by Dangerous Driving and one count of Driving/Attempting To Drive Whilst Exceeding The Prescribed Limit (Road Traffic Act 1988) which resulted in the deaths of 10-year-old Aaron Peak and 8-year-old Ben Peak. He was sentenced at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court. *

Chris Huhne Christopher Murray Paul-Huhne (born 2 July 1954), known as Chris Huhne, is a British energy and climate change consultant and former journalist and politician who was the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Eastleigh from 2005 to 2013 a ...

, Former Cabinet Minister and

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

MP for Eastleigh, jailed for perverting the course of justice * Elmore Davies, Former head of drug squad Merseyside Police given 5 years for corruption.

Film and television links

* ''

Greenfingers ''Greenfingers'' is a 2000 British comedy film directed and written by Joel Hershman. It is loosely based on the true story about the award-winning prisoners of HMP Leyhill, a minimum-security prison in the Cotswolds, England, a story publis ...

'', a 2000 film is loosely based on the story about prisoners from Leyhill and their award-winning entries into the

Chelsea Flower Show The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, formally known as the ''Great Spring Show'',Phil Clayton, ''The Great Temple Show'' in ''The Garden'' 2008, p.452, The Royal Horticultural Society is a garden show held for five days in May by the Royal Horticultural ...

References

External links

Ministry of Justice pages on Leyhill
{{Prisons in South West England

Leyhill HM Prison Leyhill is a Category D men's prison, located in the parish of Tortworth in Gloucestershire, England. Leyhill Prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. History Leyhill Prison was originally a United States military hospital ...

Buildings and structures in South Gloucestershire District 1946 establishments in England