Drugs were too freely available at HMP & YOI Stoke Heath, and too many men spent long periods locked in their cells, according to HM Inspectorate of Prisons. In random tests, nearly 30% of men tested positive for drugs.
The inspectorate’s report, published in June 2026, followed fieldwork that ended in March 2026. Inspectors linked the drug problem to boredom, debt and violence. Weak gate security, they said, increased the risk of illicit items getting in.
Stoke Heath is a closed category C prison for adult men in Shropshire, with a small category D open unit called Clive House. Category C prisons hold men judged unlikely to try to escape. Training prisons such as Stoke Heath should give them work and education. It held 741 men at the time of the inspection, against an operational capacity of 782.
Mixed grades since 2023
The inspectorate assesses adult prisons against four healthy prison tests: safety, respect, purposeful activity and preparation for release. Purposeful activity covers education, work and time out of cell. Grades run from good to poor.
Stoke Heath scored not sufficiently good for safety, down from good in 2023. It scored reasonably good for respect, unchanged. Purposeful activity was poor, as it had been at the last inspection. Preparation for release rose from not sufficiently good to reasonably good.
Inspectors identified 12 key concerns, six of them priorities. Four of the six related to education and activity. They also recorded seven examples of notable positive practice, mostly in health care and release work.
The Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, said he left with some optimism. He said the prison could flourish under the governor and her senior team if it increased purposeful activity and cut the supply of drugs.
Drugs, self-harm and deaths
Psychoactive substances topped the list of priority concerns. The drug recovery wing was underpowered. A separate incentivised substance-free living unit offered a good environment, but inspectors said it worked more like a unit for well-behaved men than a place to recover from addiction.
Recorded assaults had risen since the last inspection to a rate of 218 per 1,000 prisoners in the year to January 2026. That remained below the average for similar prisons, and few assaults were serious. Even so, 27% of men in the survey said they currently felt unsafe.
Self-harm was very high. Since the last inspection the prison had recorded three suicides in custody, a further suicide soon after release and a suspected homicide. Leaders had since strengthened case management, and inspectors saw early signs of improvement.
Some men isolated themselves on the wings for their own safety, often because of drug debts and threats. Several told inspectors they left their cells for only 30 minutes a day, for a shower and exercise. Inspectors found no whole-prison approach to supporting these men, and many wing staff said they had no part in their support plans.
Arrivals also faced risks. Safety interviews were rushed, and staff carried out only one welfare check on the first night. Some first-night cells lacked basics such as bins and cleaning materials.
Time locked up and poor attendance
The governor had been in post for 12 months when inspectors arrived. Before her arrival, four governors and four deputy governors had led the prison in turn. She had begun to tackle deep cultural problems and to refocus Stoke Heath on its role as a training prison.
Staff delivered the regime reliably, but shortages meant most men had only part-time activity. Attendance was poor, and too many men chose to stay on their wing. Leaders had not added full-time education places, put in place an effective reading strategy or offered a curriculum that supported wider development.
Inspectors also said leaders lacked an accurate view of the progress men made in industries and work. Key work, in which an officer meets a prisoner regularly for support, took place too rarely to help progression.
Relationships, living conditions and release
Relationships were a strength. Many officers had worked at the prison for more than ten years, and fewer than 8% of staff had under two years’ service. Prisoners valued that stability.
Parts of the prison were dilapidated and scruffy. The Chief Inspector of Prisons said E wing should be rebuilt. Funding for remedial work had been approved, but no start date had been set. Some long-serving men shared small, cramped cells. Staff kept the prison reasonably clean, and inspectors praised the well-tended, litter-free grounds.
The offender management unit, which oversees sentence planning, worked actively to help men reduce their risk. It paired more experienced prison offender managers with younger prisoners. Oversight of Clive House had improved. Men nearing release received some impressive support, although a wider catchment area meant staff dealt with probation teams further afield.
Health care produced several examples of good practice. The GP visited the most complex patients on the wings, and trained peer champions offered health and well-being support.
Families travelled long distances to reach the remote prison. Inspectors found it disappointing that visits often started late and that family days were too short.
About this story
This story is based on HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ report on HMP & YOI Stoke Heath, published on 1 June 2026, following an inspection that ended in March 2026. All figures and judgements are the inspectorate’s. Read the full inspection report · See the prison’s profile in our directory.
