A NEW report claims overcrowding in HMP Hewell means it is twice as likely to be rated as failing than prisons overall.

The prison population in jails across England and Wales has nearly doubled in the past two decades, standing at 85,000.

As a result, nearly two-thirds of prisons are overfull, with jails holding 10,442 more people than they were built to, according to the Prisons Reform Trust.

Their annual ‘Bromley Briefings Prison Factfile’ states five of the six prisons rated “of serious concern” by the prison service, including Hewell, are overcrowded.

Over 20,000 prisoners nationwide —nearly one quarter of the jail population—share cells designed for fewer occupants, often eating their meals in the same space as the toilet they share.

Now the Trust has called for measures to reduce overcrowding and improve jail safety.

Peter Dawson, Director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: "The bleak state of our prisons is a political failure, shared by all governments of the last two and a half decades.

"Three years of austerity have now brutally exposed the system’s inherent vulnerability, and a comprehensive strategy to control the demand for prison, and so to end overcrowding, must form part of this government’s response."

Findings state 77 of England and Wales’ 117 prisons were overcrowded at the end of October, with 324 prison deaths in the year to September the highest number on record.

In the year to June, serious assaults hit 2,462 and have more than doubled in the last three years, while cases of self-harm totalled 36,440 – the highest level recorded.

The Ministry of Justice said the average percentage of prisoners in crowded accommodation reduced to 24.5 per cent in 2015-16, compared to 25.5 in 2014-15.

A spokesman added: "The Justice Secretary has been clear that our prisons are in need of reform.

"We are investing £1.3bn to build modern new establishments, with 10,000 new prison places and better education facilities.

"Along with our plans set out in the Prison Safety Reform White Paper, this will help give offenders the skills they need to turn their lives around."

The report was compiled from analysis of Ministry of Justice data.

An inspection of Hewell is due to be published in January 2017.