ERLESTOKE Prison has been accused of resorting to draconian punishments for inmates who break rules by a leading charity.

The Howard League for Penal Reform has revealed that Erlestoke Prison, near Devizes, came close to top of the league for the number of days of additional imprisonment imposed on offenders.

In 2015 a total of 2,894 days of extra prison time were handed out to men in Erlestoke compared with just 467 at top security Dartmoor.

The charity's findings come as the prison service finds itself in turmoil and facing unrest from officers who claim they are abused and assaulted on a regular basis.

In June prisoners rioted at Erlestoke and two wings remain closed because of the damage closed. But new governor Tim Knight said last week that a full regime was running and the prison was calm and safe. He said that Erlestoke had a zero tolerance policy towards prisoners being violent towards staff or other inmates.

But the Howard League has accused prisons of to reacting to the growing pressure by being heavy handed with the extra prison sentences imposed.

A spokesman said: "Prisons across England and Wales, under growing pressure due to overcrowding and a lack of staff, are increasingly resorting to draconian punishments in a desperate and counter-productive attempt to keep control.

Frances Crook, Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “The system of adjudications has become a monster. Originally intended as a way to punish incidents of unacceptable conduct, it is now routinely used as a behaviour management technique by prisons that are out of control.

“Instead of solving the problems, these punishments feed a vicious cycle, piling more pressure on the prison population and worsening overcrowding, which in turn creates conditions for drug abuse and violence.

“At the same time, rules to incentivise prisoners’ behaviour have been made more punitive, which is also contributing to the poisonous atmosphere behind bars.

“The government has acknowledged that there are problems in the system, but warm words are not enough. The imposition of additional days should be seen as a sign of a poorly performing prison and included in new measures being proposed to monitor safety and order. The rules around incentives and earned privileges must also be revised, as ministers have now promised.

"The Howard League 3R campaign will ask governors to deal with infractions instead of referring to external adjudicators, and the judges to exercise self restraint by not bloating prison numbers even more.”

A Prison Service Spokesperson said: “We want our prisons to be places of safety and reform, and so it is right that offenders who break prison rules are properly punished. Where this amounts to a criminal offence, prisoners should expect to be investigated by the police and face more serious sanctions.

"We have announced a major shake-up of the prison system, with 2,500 extra prison officers and new security measures to tackle violence, drones, phones and drugs.

“In our White Paper, we set out plans to review the current discipline system to deal with low-level disorder in our prisons, and we plan to give governors more powers to run their prison the way they think best."