Styal prison guard couldn't enter hanged inmate's cell as he'd 'left key in his jacket'

A prison guard failed to check on a suicidal prisoner who later took her own life at HMP Styal, an investigation into her death has found.

And when Susan Knowles was found hanged in her cell, the guard couldn't enter because he'd left the key in his jacket on the floor below. Following Ms Knowles' death, it emerged the guard had falsified the record to claim he had carried out the required checks, the investigation by the Prison and Probations Ombudsman found.

He was later investigated by police and dismissed following a disciplinary probe. Ms Knowles, 48, was suffering from heroin withdrawal, depression and anxiety and was considered to be a suicide risk when she arrived at Styal on May 8, 2019, having been jailed for eight weeks for theft and breaching a community order.

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She requested methadone, but because her heart rate was too low it was 'withheld'. The next day Ms Knowles said she would kill herself if she didn't get methadone. Instead she was prescribed a combination of drugs, including painkillers and anti-sickness medication, and put on suicide and self-harm watch, also known as ACCT monitoring.

That should have meant she was observed twice an hour. But in the three hours and 45 minutes between her being seen by a nurse and her death, she was checked on just three times.

Despite that entries were made in the record claiming checks had been carried out. One read 'x2 checks in the hour lay on her left side knocked on the door to get a response Susan stuck her 2 fingers up at the door no concerns raised'.

Just after midnight on May 10, Ms Knowles was found hanged in her cell in a part of the prison known as the first night centre. But the night officer couldn't get into the room as he had left the