Now prison offices say call girls are smuggled in and they admit some jails have 'no go areas'

Prostitutes are being smuggled into prisons to 'service' criminals behind bars, prison officers said yesterday.

Further damaging criticism of the crisis within jails emerged yesterday following the Daily Mail's extraordinary revelations that dealers are breaking into prisons to sell drugs to inmates.

The latest claims include the suggestion that some prisons have become 'no-go areas' for demoralised staff.

The allegations have led to a bitter war of words between the Prison Officers' Association and the Ministry of Justice - and there are signs that the officers could vote for national strike action next month.

Glyn Travis, assistant general secretary of the POA, admitted staff were too overstretched to control some prison wings.

He said: "We have got no-go areas in certain prisons because prisoners have got complete control."

Mr Travis spoke as the prison population in England and Wales hit a record yesterday of 82,319, up 600 in three weeks - the equivalent of a mediumsized jail.

Last night Mr Travis stressed that staff were willing and able to confront criminals, but added: "We have got a massive shortfall of staff. We are 1,000 prison officers short across the country.

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"There is a serious recruitment problem and we have the New Labour Ministry of Justice imposing year-on-year efficiency savings which will further reduce the level of staff and supervision of prisoners."

The POA's claims were backed by a report from the Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers, who found that parts of Rye Hill Prison in Warwickshire were effectively controlled by inmates.

She warned of inadequate supervision and violent incidents not being properly investigated - "which led to prisoners stating that they, rather than the staff, were in control of the units".

The incidents of prostitutes being smuggled into jails to spend the night with inmates are alleged to have happened at Sudbury Prison in Derbyshire, an open jail.

Staff reported seeing women - thought to be call girls - leaving the jail in the mornings.

Mr Travis has already warned of the problems uncovered at Everthorpe Prison in East Yorkshire, a Category C 'secure' jail.

Staff there discovered in January that a drug dealer was using ladders to break in to the prison at night to pass drugs and other contraband items into inmates' cells.

The prison service confirmed the problems at Everthorpe but insisted they had been stamped out.

The POA has warned that its members cannot stem the tide of illegal drugs, which are often cheaper inside prisons than on the streets.

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Former prison service officials have estimated that £100million worth of drugs are sold in jails every year.

The union has also condemned what it believes is an overly-comfortable regime in jails.

Many inmates have satellite TV in their cells and breakfast in bed while staff are nervous of breaching the criminals' human rights.

The Ministry of Justice complained that the POA's comments "undermined the excellent work done by prison officers".

"It is simply not true that there are areas of prisons that are no-go areas for staff. The POA's description of prisons is out of touch with reality," it said.

The ministry defended the conditions in prisons, saying: "The punishment of the court is loss of liberty - harsh regimes do not lead to rehabilitation or a reduction in re-offending."

POA leaders expect to face calls for strike action over pay when members gather for their annual conference next month.

The union gave warning last year that it was withdrawing from a voluntary no-strike agreement, which will expire on May 8.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw has pledged to bring in new legislation banning prison officers from such action, but now faces a race to secure Royal assent before the agreement lapses.

Yesterday it emerged that a prison with 380 cells is standing empty at Wealstun in Yorkshire, despite the overcrowding crisis.

The open jail is due to be converted to a secure unit, but weeks after it was emptied, managers have yet to submit a planning application for the work, including a security fence.

Ministers revealed that the prison service is wasting £ 20million a year hiring police station cells as overspill capacity - costing £385 a night for each cell - which are then not used.