DEATH tolls in prisons in England and Wales have risen to their highest levels since current recording practices began, a charity has warned.

A statistical bulletin published by the Ministry of Justice shows that 371 people died in prison custody in 2021.

This is a 17 per cent rise on the year before, when 318 people died.

Three of those 371 deaths took place in Wrexham's HMP Berwyn.

The number of people losing their lives through suicide has increased by 28 per cent in just one year – from 67 in 2020 to 86 in 2021 – with people on remand or serving sentences of less than six months at particularly high risk.

One in five suicides occurred within the person’s first 30 days in custody, with one in 10 cases occurring within the first week.

The figures reveal the devastating impact that Covid-19 has had on people living and working in prisons and their families.

From the start of the pandemic in March 2020 to the end of December 2021, 177 people in prison have died within 28 days of having a positive Covid-19 test or where there was a clinical assessment that Covid-19 was a factor in their deaths.

The Howard League has called for the treatment of people in prison to be included in the inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic.

Strict restrictions in prisons have left tens of thousands of people locked in their cells for 23 hours a day, for months on end.

Andrea Coomber, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “For the first time since current recording practices began more than 40 years ago, people in prison are dying at a rate of more than one per day.

“While the full impact of the pandemic will only become apparent in the years to come, there is plainly a mental health crisis in our prisons with suicides up nearly 30 per cent in the past year.

“Tens of thousands of people have been held in overcrowded conditions or solitary confinement for months on end.

"It is almost impossible to fathom the mental distress that this will have caused.

"This is devastating for the prisoners, their families and the staff looking after them."

The bulletin states that prisons recorded 52,726 incidents of self-injury in the 12 months to the end of September 2021, at a rate of one every 10 minutes.

This represents an overall reduction of 11 per cent compared to the previous 12 months, but the rate of self-injury among women rose by 5 per cent.

Over the same period, prisons recorded 20,049 assaults – an 18 per cent reduction on the figures for the previous 12 months.

A Prison Service spokesman said: “Our decisive action has kept prisoners safe in difficult circumstances, with video calls and in-cell education rolled out in recognition of tough but necessary restrictions.

“We continue to improve mental health support – with more than 25,000 staff trained in suicide and self-harm prevention so far.”