HMP The Mount: Second day of prison disturbance

Specially trained officers were pictured entering The Mount prison yesterday, they were also redeployed today Credit: PA

Inmates at a Hertfordshire prison reportedly briefly 'took over' part of a wing where they were being held amid continuing disputes at the facility.

Specialist officers were called into action and sent to the prison for the second time in as many days as the situation at HMP The Mount escalated.

The Ministry of Justice confirmed that specially trained prison staff had been deployed to HMP The Mount "to resolve an incident involving a number of prisoners" but did not confirm whether a wing had been seized.

The MoJ later said the incident had been resolved.

A prison spokesperson said: "Specially trained prison staff have successfully resolved an incident at HMP The Mount on 1 August. There were no injuries to staff or prisoners.

"We do not tolerate violence in our prisons, and are clear that those responsible will be referred to the police and could spend longer behind bars."

According to prison affairs academic and blogger Alex Cavendish staff at one point were "said to have 'lost control' of part of the prison's Nash Wing".

Reports suggested prisoners armed with weapons seized control of part of Nash wing on Tuesday as the jail struggled with staff shortages.

The wing, which houses 250 inmates, is home to many offenders who are either serving short sentences or have only three months left to serve.

An MoJ spokesperson said: "The situation at the prison remains contained and there is no risk to the public.”

The prison rebellion came following a previous lengthy disturbance across two wings at the jail on Monday night and less than 24 hours after a report warned the prison had lost experienced staff and suffered problems including violence.

There was a previous disturbance at The Mount Prison on Monday Credit: John Stillwell/PA Wire

Prior concerns about the situation at the prison came to light on Monday after an assessment from its Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) which said during the year to the end of February The Mount has struggled with staff shortages "driven by uncompetitive pay scales".

In their report though the IMB did also say that despite the shortages the establishment ended the year as a safe prison where inmates have a good chance of rehabilitation