THERE has been a decline in the number of drugs discovered in Stoke Heath prison over the last year, figures reveal.

Ministry of Justice data reveals 57 searches uncovered drugs within the north Shropshire prison in the year to March – down from 133 the previous year.

The most commonly-found drug – where the type was specified – was psychoactive substances, with 26 seizures made over the year.

The MoJ figures also show the number of seizures of other banned item in prisons last year.

At HMP Stoke Heath, officers discovered mobile phones on eight occasions, alcohol 50 times and weapons on 36 occasions.

Across England and Wales, the number of drug finds in prisons fell six per cent to 20,300 in 2020-21 – a reduction Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service has linked to restrictions placed on prisons during the pandemic.

However, there was an increase in discoveries of psychoactive substances – the most commonly-found drug type nationally – and cocaine.

In March last year a five-tier restriction scale was imposed on prisons in a bid to protect inmates and staff from the spread of Covid-19.

They ranged from ongoing testing if there was no case in a prison, to a full lockdown if there was an active outbreak – which meant no time outside for prisoners and meals served only at cell doors.

In an annual report for 2020-21, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons for England and Wales said out of 70 prisoners interviewed across six prisons, most had spent the pandemic locked in their cells for more than 22 hours a day.

The report continued: "Some prisoners had turned to using drugs to manage their isolation and chronic boredom."

Frances Crook, chief executive of penal reform charity the Howard League, said drugs were a "scourge" in prisons.

She added: "They have a devastating impact on the lives of prisoners and their families, and we know that the number of confiscations recorded even before the pandemic did not tell the whole story about the true scale of the problem."