The Mancunian Way: The squalor inside Strangeways

Blood-splattered walls, rat infestations, broken windows, smashed furniture and damp and mould. The full extent of the filthy and squalid conditions inside crisis-ridden Strangeways have been laid bare in new images published today.

It comes after a watchdog warned the skies above HMP Manchester have been 'ceded to organised crime gangs' using drones to smuggle drugs and weapons to some of the most 'dangerous men in the country'. Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor said the problem is now so bad it has become a 'threat to national security'.

In a report published on Tuesday, he said the 157-year-old prison had a 'thriving illicit economy' amid basic security measures such as outdoor protective netting and CCTV having fallen into disrepair. Mr Taylor found that prisoners were burning holes in supposedly secure windows to receive regular deliveries by drone. In October Mr Taylor called the prison 'the most violent' in the UK and said standards had completely collapsed.

Inmates face 'catastrophic levels' of drugs, high rates of violence and a rat infestation, the damning inspection found. There had been a 'concerning decline' since the last inspection in 2021 - and inspectors said organised crime gangs and the supply of drugs into Strangeways were 'clearly undermining every aspect of prison life'.

Responding to the findings, Pia Sinha, chief executive of the Prison Reform Trust, said: "The infiltration of criminal organisations into prisons is a serious and worrying development which these troubling inspection reports highlight. An illicit prison economy that is driven by drug dealing and criminality leads to increased debt and violence and can also have a serious negative impact on the wider community outside of