'Tornado team' help bring six-hour disturbance at Bedford Prison under control

There was a heavy police presence outside the prison. Credit: @Drewscapegoat/Twitter

A specialist riot unit was sent to help deal with a disturbance at Bedford Prison that went on for more than six hours.

The incident started at around 2.30pm on Saturday afternoon and was contained in one wing. No staff or prisoners were hurt.

The Ministry of Justice's 'Tornado team' was deployed to help bring the situation under control and it was safely resolved by 9pm.

The prison, which was recently compared to "a dungeon" by regulators, has a recent history of violence and there was a riot involving 230 prisoners there in 2016.

The incident started on Saturday afternoon and carried on into the evening. Credit: @Drewscapegoat/Twitter

In a statement sent to ITV News Anglia, the Ministry of Justice was quick to point out that the latest incident was no where near the scale of that, but those involved could still expect "the strongest possible punishment."

“Staff at HMP Bedford successfully resolved an incident in one wing of the prison," the statement read.

“We do not tolerate violence in our prisons and, where incidents like this occur, will always push for the strongest possible punishment for those involved.”