WINCHESTER prison has been put in special measures a month after a report said it was "teetering on the edge of a major incident".

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) confirmed action had been taking in a bid to improve the struggling facility.

The Prison Service spokesman said: "We are considering a range of options to help HMP Winchester improve, and offer this support to any prison that would benefit from a long term action plan.

“The IMB recognised improvements have been made at the prison, following the appointment of a new governor, but there is much more to do."

He added: “Across the prison estate we are recruiting an extra 2,500 extra officers and have put in place new security measures to tackle drones, phones and drugs, helping make prisons places of safety and reform.”

Since a report by the Independent Monitoring Board's (IMB) annual report was published, the MOJ said the prison has introduced body-worn cameras, installed additional CCTV and recruited extra staff.

The report, for the year ending May 31, said that four deaths had been linked to ineffective management of care at the prison, inadequate staffing means men often have only one hour a day out of their cells, and that the subterranean segregation unit, described as a “dungeon”, is still unfit for purpose.

It added that healthcare delivers an inadequate service and is beset by inconsistent leadership and insufficient staff, while poorly maintained and dilapidated Victorian buildings reinforce alienation among prisoners, prevent full disabled access and undermine morale throughout the jail.

However, the report did note that there had been some improvements at the prison following the appointment of a new governor last year.

As previously reported, there has been breakdowns of order at the jail in recent months including a lockdown that lasted several days in October, as well as a number of inmate deaths.