The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) has published its investigation into the death of Raymond Wallace at HMP Lowdham Grange. He was one of five prisoners at the jail whose deaths were drug-related over five months in 2024 and 2025.
Mr Wallace, 52, came originally from London and was serving a nine-year sentence imposed in March 2023. He died on 26 January 2025. According to the report, the effects of synthetic cannabinoids, known as Spice, caused his death.
Lowdham Grange recorded five drug-related deaths between 17 November 2024 and 6 April 2025. Mr Wallace’s was the fourth.
Drug use went unnoticed
The report describes Mr Wallace as a trusted prisoner. He worked in the prison gardens and supported younger men on his wing.
In May 2024, however, he failed a mandatory drug test, testing positive for cannabis and psychoactive substances. The substance misuse service at the prison did not know him.
Staff appeared unaware that he used drugs, although some prisoners knew about his cannabis use. The hearing that followed his failed test closed without any referral to the substance misuse service.
HM Inspectorate of Prisons has reported that drugs were a very serious problem at Lowdham Grange. The number of prisoners found under the influence of illicit substances kept rising in 2025.
Drones caused particular concern, and many of them got through without interception. The prison was renewing anti-drone netting in outdoor areas that prisoners could reach, and had other measures in place or planned.
Over the previous 10 months, 40.6 per cent of random drug tests came back positive. In a survey, 56 per cent of prisoners said drugs were easy to obtain.
Checks not done properly
The PPO also found that staff did not carry out welfare checks adequately. It said: “While it is impossible to say whether the outcome would have been different for Mr Wallace if he had been checked in line with policy during the standfast roll check, this was a missed opportunity to identify any concerns.”
According to the Ombudsman, staff did not understand when they should carry out routine roll and welfare checks, or what each check required. On the day Mr Wallace died, staff did not complete these checks properly.
The prison has drawn up an action plan in response and is getting extra support from the national safety team. A new Governor now leads the jail, which is also looking at creating a dedicated wing for incentivised substance-free living.
HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) took interim control of Lowdham Grange from Sodexo, the private company that had run it, in December 2023. The prison formally returned to the public sector on 1 August 2024. The PPO said Lowdham Grange was going through a period of transition and faced significant challenges.
Lowdham Grange is a category B men’s prison in the East Midlands. At its last full inspection before this report, in June 2025, inspectors rated safety and respect as poor. They judged purposeful activity and preparation for release not sufficiently good.
