An open prison has seen the number of inmates absconding fall more than 50 per cent in the last four years, a prison inspector has said.

HMP Sudbury was inspected in 2013 - and Peter Clarke, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said the jail had made "significant progress" since then.

Mr Clarke also said the prison, which houses 576 convicts, offered "good support" to rehabilitate inmates.

The newly-published report from April's inspection said the institution's main task should now be to "provide men with the conditions and support they needed to prepare them for successful release back into the community".

Mr Clarke said: "At its last inspection in 2013, inspectors concluded that the prison was failing badly in this central task and were pleased at this more recent inspection to see that this had now changed. There was evidence of positive work to rehabilitate the men held."

The inspectors found that the prison was "generally safe", with few instances of violence. It also crucially recorded the downward trend in people absconding. A total of 33 failed to return, or escaped, in 2013–2014 and just 17 did so in 2016–17.

Inspectors found a "good focus" on ensuring men only returned to closed conditions after a period of reflection.

Arrangements for the small number of men self-harming were found to be "good" and security focused on preventing contraband from entering the jail.

Five deaths in custody had been recorded since the 2013 inspection and new psychoactive substances had been implicated in some of them. However, the prison was found to be focused on "managing these issues and supporting men with addictions".

Education and employment skills work had improved, the report said, as had public protection work.

HMP Sudbury
HMP Sudbury

Despite the positives, inspectors found some antisocial behaviour was not investigated and support for bullying victims was not always adequate.

Some work to help resettle prisoners on release was made more challenging by the large number of men with only short periods of time to serve.

Mr Clarke said: "Sudbury was well led and had made significant progress since our last inspection. It was now delivering some strong support and doing much more to achieve its main aim of providing rehabilitative opportunities for men held.

"There remained a small number of important issues for the prison to address, but we left confident that yet further improvement was within the prison’s capabilities."

Michael Spurr, chief executive of HM Prison and Probation Service, said he was pleased with the report.

He said: "The prison has made great strides since its last inspection and this report rightly recognises the hard work and dedication of the governor and his staff."

Looking for a job? There are thousands available at www.Fish4.co.uk