Britain's prisons have been thrown into crisis following a barrage of searing reports by the Chief Inspector of Prisons, Sir David Ramsbotham.

In January he denounced Brixton as a "failing jail" and said it had the worst health provision of any correctional facility in the country.

In March, he found "horrendous" levels of violence in Stoke Heath Young Offenders Institute, Shropshire, and recommended no new prisoners be sent to two of its wings.

Earlier this year Lewes prison was criticised in a report by the Annual Board of Visitors, saying many inmates were forced to live in appalling conditions with the pressure of staff cuts.

In comparison, Sir David's latest report on Ford is positively glowing.

The inspectorate has found 46 examples of good practice in the open prison, which has almost 400 inmates serving time for a spectrum of crimes ranging from murder to drug offences and fraud.

Its provision on training and work was praised, with inspectors finding inmates had plenty of work and were often able to train at levels higher than the standard NVQ.

In a questionnaire filled out by a random sample of inmates, 27 per cent of those working inside the prison felt they were learning useful skills.

Many of the 12 per cent working outside the prison were involved in community service work, such as horticulture, and 50 per cent of them said they thought their skills would come in useful on release.

Inmates grow shrubs and salad vegetables for other prisons on the extensive farm or work in the engineering, textile and carpentry workshops. On average, they earn about £7 a week.

One group of men was welding gates and bars for other prisons in the metal workshop.

Paul, who has been at Ford for a year of his 15-month sentence, was working on a set of bars to be installed at Wandsworth, the jail he spent the first few months of his time in.

He said: "It's more relaxed here. Wandsworth's a bang-up and this is an open prison. I didn't really see any of the bullying there but I knew it went on. There's none of that here at all."

Paul, who committed VAT fraud, was looking forward to his first town visit in May.

Prisoners are allowed up to nine hours outside the grounds to spend with their family or on their own exploring the area.

The report made more serious allegations which Tom Murtagh, area manager for Kent, Surrey and Sussex, and governor Ken Kan have been quick to deny.

Sir David referred to the prison's education provision as "being in a spiral of decline", with "relentless erosion of its funding and confusion over its purpose".

One practice referred to by Sir David involved encouraging inmates who already have degrees to sit basic tests so the prison can achieve overall education targets. He called this "both cynical and immoral".

Mr Kan refuted the finding and said the men were tested for their levels of ability before they joined the prison but only those who improved would be included in performance indicator targets.

The governor was keen to stress the importance of reaching basic educational targets when it came to resettlement outside prison.

But the issue of resettlement was another bone of contention and Sir David claimed the prison's emphasis had moved away from this. He said: "The most urgent need is to clarify the role of Ford. It cannot truly fulfil its potential while it continues in its present strategic vacuum."

The report criticised Ford's petty rules and regulations, which it said seemed to be growing more restrictive rather than more open.

This is something many prisoners complain about. In the questionnaire, one man said: "There is nothing positive here at Ford - most guys would prefer being back in mainstream prisons."

However, inmates did praise the prison regime in the anonymous questionnaire. Several of the prisoners there seemed happy with the set-up, including induction orderly Peter, who is serving a five-year sentence for fraud.

He said: "Being here does suit me. My home is in Bournemouth so things like home visits work out well. It is about taking some responsibility for yourself, some control. For many people, it is the last stop on the road to freedom."

But the most serious allegation in Sir David's report suggests a climate of fear could be lurking beneath the harmonious "holiday camp" image.

The report suggests prisoners are afraid to complain or bring up grievances for fear of having their privileges revoked.

Mr Kan said a thorough investigation had been carried out and no evidence of such behaviour was found.