Lowdham Grange: Prison disorder 'ended by stun grenades'

Prison staff reportedly used stun grenades to bring an end to five hours of disorder in a wing at the jail.

Violence broke out on Thursday night at HMP Lowdham Grange in Nottinghamshire, with an inmate's sister claiming "flashbangs" were set off by staff.

Serco, which runs the prison, said it would not disclose the tactics used to resolve the trouble.

It said the incident in F wing, which started at about 18:00 BST, had been "resolved peacefully" by 23:30.

The inmate's sister, who asked to remain anonymous, said she was told prisoners "were chucking things all over the place".

She told the BBC her brother claimed prison staff had "thrown punches" while "flashbangs" were set off just before 23:30.

The disorder started because inmates were unhappy with conditions inside the jail, she added.

Serco said "a maximum of six prisoners" had been involved.

A spokesman described it as an incident of "concerted indiscipline" which was "contained in the wing and no-one was injured".

He added: "There were no punches thrown. We don't go into specific tactics used, but it was resolved peacefully."

Lowdham Grange is a category B men's prison, which houses 888 prisoners.

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