TUCKED away in the Devonshire countryside, Channings Wood could be like any other quiet village.
Crouched over a flowerbed, an elderly gentleman in a blue shirt and work trousers is tending to some sunflowers.
The Sun was given exclusive access behind the scenes of new prison cells being built to house some of Britains most dangerous criminals[/caption]
A prisoner gets his hands dirty doing some gardening at Devons HMP Channings Wood[/caption]
One of the cells at the cushy jail[/caption]
Gary Glitter is rumoured to be among the inmates[/caption]
Nearby a pair of men are sitting playing chess at a table in a gap between the late summer rain showers.
There’s a barber shop and a workshop where smart looking picnic benches are being made, ready to be shipped out to customers
But for the elderly man, the task of pruning is taking a bit longer than usual, particularly because the only tool he has at his disposal is a pair of nail clippers.
He is in fact a prisoner, detained at Her Majesty’s Pleasure, and he is not allowed access to any tools which could be used as a weapon.
This week The Sun has been given exclusive access behind the scenes of the prison – HMP Channings Wood – to see two new modern houseblocks being built on site.
The Category C prison is nestled in the heart of the Devonshire countryside near to the pretty town of Newton Abbot and holds around 700 dangerous offenders.
Sex Offender Gary Glitter is rumoured to be among those housed here, although the Ministry of Justice remain tight-lipped about his whereabouts.
When we visit, half of the wings are designated as Vulnerable Prison Units – where inmates are kept if they are thought to be at risk from other prisoners.
Sex offenders, like Glitter, are kept on these units and are entirely separate from the rest of the prison population.
The rest are people who could be coming to the end of their sentences.
One cell we step into in the older houseblocks has Sabrina Carpenter’s Please Please Please blasting out from a computer, and pictures of the inmate’s young family on the wall.
Work started on the new blocks – two four story buildings which look like giant crosses from above – in 2022 and are set to finish in late 2027.
It means the small prison will almost double in size, with 500 more inmates bussed in.
It comes after the opening of a 1,500-capacity prison in Yorkshire, HMP Millsike, in March, and is part of a £4.7 billion building plan.
Thirty rapid deployment cells – which resemble portacabins – are also about ready to open at the prison.
Some of the furniture for the new blocks could come from within the prison walls.
One prison houseblock had Sabrina Carpenter’s Please Please Please blaring from a computer[/caption]
Lags get paid to make picnic benches[/caption]
One gets stuck into a flower bed at the category C jail[/caption]
The Sun visited the workshop where prisoners are paid £12.60 a week to make wooden furniture for the rest of the prison estate.
They churn out picnic benches, lockers, chairs, and benches depending on what is needed in the rest of the country’s prisons.
Every three months they get an order sheet from HQ in London which can include 400 benches, 500 lockers.
Some of the offenders being held at Channings Wood have been onto the construction zone to train up to work on building sites after they get released.
Rebecca Boundy, Managing Director (Justice) at Kier Construction, told The Sun: “We have a pioneering programme called Making Ground, which is where we’re proactively looking at training and employment opportunities for prison leavers to ensure that there’s that stepping stone into purposeful employment.
“We’re also undertaking what we called Hard Hat ready training, which is a three week course, helps them get initial qualifications, and an understanding of construction, so it supports the skill shortage in our industry. 29 prisoners here at Channings would have undertaken that training.
“It’s about giving prisoners a basic understanding of the construction industry, the different employment routes and professions available, and provides them with support and training to get the initial qualifications including the initial mandatory level to work on construction sites.”
Minister for Prisons, Probation, and Reducing Reoffending, Lord James Timpson said: “This Government inherited a capacity crisis in our prisons.
“We will never let that happen again, ensuring there is always space in our jails for dangerous offenders, part of our Plan for Change.
“We’ve delivered 2,500 new places in the last year, on track for 14,000 by 2031. In the fourteen years to April 2024, only 500 places were added to our estate. This new site alone will provide that many.”
A mural on one of the block’s walls[/caption]
A CGI of how the prison will look when completed[/caption]
The prison holds around 700 dangerous offenders[/caption]