FURNITURE was thrown and rooms were trashed in the six-hour Lewes Prison rampage, it has emerged.

Prisoners had been locked in their cells for hours on end when frustrations reached boiling point on Saturday. Tables were overturned, chairs were thrown and used to smash the ceiling, toilets, cells and also offices were trashed as they ran riot on C-wing.

The riot came after official reports warned violence had spiked amid dwindling staff levels with inmates being kept in their cells, it has emerged.

Just four officers were left in charge of 164 category B prisoners in the rampage which began at 9am when managers ordered officers to release small groups of prisoners into the communal areas. Between around 30 and 40 inmates were allowed out at a time but they became aggressive when asked to return to their cells an hour later. Lewes Prison’s safe work assessment states six officers and one senior should be in charge of a wing, The Argus understands.

Six ringleaders threatened the completely outnumbered officers, forcing them to retreat while prisoners ran riot.

Three inmates have been arrested and questioned on participating in a prison mutiny and violent disorder by police. Two of the men, both 27, are also being investigated on suspicion of arson with intent and one on attempted criminal damage.

The third man, 24, was being investigated on suspicion of criminal intent. All were released back into custody on bail until Monday, December 12.

A former Lewes prison officer said: “It is no wonder they have trouble recruiting. They are hiring new officers on £16,000 to reduce costs with no experienced mentors and they are walking into pandemonium. They need to build up a rapport with inmates to show they are not scared of them. Four officers to a wing is too few. All the warning signs were there, this was bound to happen.”

Lewes MP Maria Caulfield said she was not surprised by the incident but was disappointed because she had raised these concerns for a long time, adding: “There is a recruitment problem. I have spoken to justice secretary Elizabeth Truss about this and I want the Ministry of Justice to add Lewes to a prison improvement plan focussing on Victorian buildings.”

Officers are planning to take over management of the prison on Wednesday if talks do not reveal urgent plans for reform. Four buses of prisoners were shipped out of the jail to others around the country on Sunday. It is understood 120 were taken away to prisons including Rochester and Lincoln but this has not been confirmed.

The Argus tried to contact governor Jim Bourke yesterday but a prison spokeswoman said he did not respond to requests from the media.

HISTORY OF BRAWLS, ATTACKS AND A SUSPECTED SUICIDE

THIS is the second time this year Lewes Prison was put into lockdown.

Before the six-hour riot on Saturday when officers were forced to flee as prisoners went on the rampage, emergency services were called to the prison in June after a brawl ended with an inmate being hospitalised. It is understood his face was disfigured in the attack.

Ambulances were called to the prison more than eight times in the last three years, according to figures obtained by The Argus. Twice for reports of someone being shot or stabbed, twice when someone fell up to 12ft, to tend to a casualty of a fire and for three assaults.

An inmate was stabbed in the prison library in one of many violent incidents previously recorded. Burglar Jamie Osbourne, 19, was found dead in his cell on February 12 in a suspected suicide.

Just last week The Howard League for Penal Reform issued a stark warning about the effects of growing violence and diminishing staff numbers.

Official reports have consistently raised concerns of a rise in violence and the fact that prisoners, sometimes as many as half the 640, were being locked in their cells for too long – up to 22 hours a day.

Experts say inmates, denied the chance to exercise or phone their families, become agitated and volatile.

Michael Spurr, chief executive of the National Offender Management Service, said prison governor Jim Bourke had plans in place to address concerns and improving safety was a priority.

But sources told The Argus yesterday that tensions were still running high between prisoners and staff for months over a lack of officers and prisoners having enough time out of the cells, which reached boiling point on Saturday.

It is something the MP for Lewes, Maria Caulfield, has been raising concerns about for some time.

Nearly two years ago Kim Lennon, who had been a prison officer for 10 years, was sacked after voicing her fears about a lack of staff.

The whistleblower said her concerns were vindicated by an inspector, but her former colleagues are still too scared to speak out.

Lewes is designed to hold 617 prisoners but is currently holding 642.

Previously the prison service denied there were “severe” staff shortages but figures showed officer numbers at the jail have dropped from 150 in 2013 to 127 this June.

The C-wing in the category B prison holds defendants on remand and criminals convicted of violence, arson, robbery, or drugs, sexual and firearms offences or acts of terrorism.

The inmates are serving a sentence of 10 years or more, or an indeterminate sentence – of no fixed length of time.

They may have previously escaped from a closed prison or police escort and as such are still recognised as at risk of absconding.

They may have previously been incarcerated in a category A prison – the highest security prisons where murderers and the most dangerous criminals are held – but have been downgraded for good behaviour.

Lewes is said to be more volatile because of its high numbers of remand prisoners and those on shorter sentences. There have been warnings of a culture of “bullying” by management.

Government figures show violence in prisons increased 35 per cent in the 12 months leading up to June – as prison populations have been growing and staff numbers shrinking.

In August, Peter Clarke, the chief inspector of prisons, said: “There is a simple and unpalatable truth about far too many of our prisons. They have become unacceptably violent and dangerous places.”

He linked part of the violence to the use of drugs and so-called legal highs.

Crime author Martina Cole was due to visit Lewes Prison in November last year as part of her efforts to improve literacy rates in jail but the project was cancelled after a major security search.

In May, 12 people appeared in court charged with trying to smuggle drugs, legal highs and mobile phones into the prison.

The banned psychotic drug known as "spice" has been seized in the prison ten times since October last year. Amphetamines and cannabis have also been seized in the past.

Justice Secretary Liz Truss said: “I am determined to make sure our prisons are safe and places of rehabilitation.”

She is expected to address Parliament in early November.

REPORTS SHOW RISE IN VIOLENCE

A RISE in violence and concerns over a lack of staff have been raised repeatedly in official reports for Lewes prison.

Two publications in the last year focus on these concerns, but they were raised as early as 2014. There were low staff levels and morale as well as high rates of staff sickness, a report published by the prison’s Independent Monitoring Board found.

There were 162 violent incidents or assaults recorded between February 2015 and January this year. That showed an average of nearly 10 a month for the first six months and rising to just over 17 a month for the rest of the time. Investigations were launched but were not completed or were delayed.

Staff and prisoners had been unable to build up good relationships which help the smooth running of a prison.

Prisoners were locked in cells for up to 20 hours a day, the report said. This concern was also raised in its 2014 report.

The figures show Lewes Prison saw a 45 per cent rise in assaults – increasing from 106 in 2014 to 154 in 2015 – while Ford open prison saw an increase of two incidents from eight to ten, a report said.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons said levels of violence in Lewes prison had shot up and there were safety concerns about the conditions.

It found 111 assaults on prisoners in just six months, rising from 42 in the previous period, a report published in February said. There were 25 assaults on staff compared with six from a previous inspection. Only 37 of 62 violent incidents had been investigated.