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Man jailed for six years over drone drops of drugs into prisons
Police described the 28-year-old as the head of a sophisticated operation that flew drugs and phones into jails. Selfies he took with his drones turned up on his phone.
Prison profile
HMP The Mount
Category C Public (HMPPS)
Population1,022of 1,032 operational places (99%)
Last inspectedNovember 2024Full inspection, unannounced
Latest inspection
At its last full inspection (November 2024; report published February 2025), inspectors found outcomes for prisoners were poor for purposeful activity; reasonably good for safety, respect and preparation for release. It held 1,022 people at the time, against an operational capacity of 1,032.
Read our story Read the inspection report
Healthy prison tests: inspectors grade four areas from 1 (poor) to 4 (good).
Inspection history
- Safety: reasonably good · Respect: reasonably good · Purposeful activity: poor · Preparation for release: reasonably good Read our story
- Follow-up visit assessing progress against the key concerns from the previous full inspection. Read the report (HM Inspectorate of Prisons, opens external site) ↗
- Safety: reasonably good · Respect: not sufficiently good · Purposeful activity: poor · Rehabilitation and release planning: not sufficiently good Read our story
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Inquest jury finds drugs at HMP The Mount probably led to prisoner’s death
Jurors criticised the prison’s failure to deal with the availability of drugs and an inadequate search of Simon Ludlow’s cell before he died in November 2023.
News
HMP The Mount launches railway training scheme for prisoners
A stretch of track inside the Hertfordshire prison is training men for rail jobs, and organisers say every man who has passed the course has received a job offer for release.
News
HMP The Mount: drones and poor education put gains at risk, inspectors find
Inspectors found better staff relations and a fuller regime at the Hertfordshire jail, but rated purposeful activity poor and warned that drone deliveries of drugs and weapons could undo the progress.