Visit to HMP Prison Stoke Heath

As there are no prisons in Herefordshire, we took the chance to visit Stoke Heath Prison with the High Sheriff of Shropshire, Dr Josh Dixey on 1^st February.  We were the guests of John Huntington, the Governor.

HMP & YOI Stoke Heath is a Closed Category C Adult male and Young Adult site with a maximum of 766 inmates.  We were shown round by a warder and met the chaplains and imam and some of the prisoners.  The Governor explained the issues faced by the prison service, but confirmed the impression we had that the regime was intended to prepare inmates as far as possible for a return to normal life the end of their sentences.

James Hervey-Bathurst