The Government is sending criminals convicted of serious offences to Sussex to help ease the overcrowding crisis in British jails.

The Prison Service has been forced to admit it is to send crooks previously deemed only suitable for closed conditions to HMP Ford, the open jail near Arundel, because other prisons are running at or above capacity.

The move has raised fears of a rise in escapes at the jail.

Arundel and South Downs MP Nick Herbert said: "Open prisons should not be used as an emergency overspill for closed prisons.

"Clearly there is a risk that unsuitable offenders who should be in more secure conditions will be transferred to Ford.

"This will further undermine public confidence in the penal system."

The prison population in England and Wales reached an all time high of 81,106 last week, leading to doubling-up inside cells at many closed jails, including HMP Lewes, and police cells being used as temporary jails at a cost of millions of pounds to the taxpayer.

In a recent report published by the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP Lewes, major concerns were raised about overcrowding, conditions and retention of prisoners serving life sentences because there is nowhere else for them to go.

The move also comes after the Government recommended that thousands of prisoners should be granted early release to help ease overcrowding.

Yesterday The Argus revealed that Fiona Radford, governor of Ford, said burglars and drug dealers at the open prison could be set for early release because of the worsening overcrowding crisis.

The admission about using HMP Ford was made by the Prison Service to Mr Herbert in an answer to a Parliamentary question.

Previously, only prisoners serving sentences of 12 months or less were allowed to be transferred from closed conditions to HMP Ford.

However the Government has now extended that to sentences of up to four years in a desperate move to ease overcrowding.

Currently most open prisons are running at only 90 per cent capacity while most closed prisons are above the 100 per cent mark.

The Prison Service said in a memo seen by The Argus that the "open estate" must be used to its capacity.

Prisons Minister David Hanson MP said: "The Prison Service has already implemented measures designed to maximise the use of the whole prison estate.

"Each individual is subject to a streamlined risk assessment in order to determine whether they are suitable for transfer."

The Prison Service said: "This instruction does not imply a relaxation of standards for allocation to open conditions.

"However, there is an expectation that for many prisoners within the scope of this instruction, the level of risk will have been substantially reduced by this stage in their sentence."

Glyn Hughes, Deputy Governor of HMP Ford said: "It is quite right and appropriate to send offenders to the open estate, who meet the entrance criteria.

"All offenders, who are transferred to Ford Open Prison, have been thoroughly risk assessed and deemed appropriate for the open estate.

"The Prison Service has a duty to hold all offenders sentenced and convicted by the courts, and to put in place measures to maximise occupancy throughout the whole Prison estate."

Is it right that crooks previously deemed only suitable for closed conditions are being sent to HMP Ford? Let us know what you think below.