Bristol prison is so crowded that prisoners are having to

share single cells, while others don't have an in-cell toilet,

according to inspectors.

The Victorian jail in Horfield, which first opened in 1883,

is certified to hold 476 inmates, but currently has 597

prisoners.

It can hold a maximum of 606, if prisoners double up in

cells designed to hold just one inmate.

Inspectors found that many inmates were locked in their

cells for long periods, sometimes for a 15-hour stretch without

being allowed out to 'exercise' or attend education

classes.

There are no toilets in cells on the prison's B wing.

A computerised system allows one prisoner out of his cell

for just six minutes at a time - often resulting in a long wait

to use the toilet for some inmates.

Modern prisons have a toilet in each cell.

Prisoners are also not allowed into the outdoor exercise

yard adjacent to Wing B to exercise because the perimeter wall

is low enough for contraband to thrown over from outside the

jail.

It has been known for drugs to be thrown over the walls of

some prisons.

Inspectors also found that the prison gym was too small to

be used for basketball, volleyball and other team games.

Meanwhile, the prison's black and ethnic minority inmates -

which make up a fifth of the prison population - have reported

worse treatment than white inmates.

The jail, recently changed from a category A to a category B

prison, was inspected in March this year. The report was today

made public.

It was last inspected in 2005, but some of the

recommendations made back then to improve prison life have yet

to be implemented, inspectors said.

The prison lost its category A status in 2005 which meant

that inmates serving so-called life-sentences should have been

moved to other prisons.

Inspectors discovered that there were some 'lifers' still

remaining at the jail, in Cambridge Road, Horfield.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons is an independent

inspectorate which reports on the condition of the prison and

treatment of its inmates, to promote the concept of 'healthy

prisons'.

Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers said: "Managers at

Bristol had succeeded in reversing the decline we recorded at

the last inspection in January 2005.

"However, in spite of these efforts, the effects of

continued population pressure meant that Bristol was not yet

performing well enough."

Phil Wheatley, director general of the national offender

management service, said: "Bristol is a busy local prison and

works hard to provide a safe, decent environment.

"I am pleased that the Chief Inspector has acknowledged the

hard work by managers and staff in raising the standards since

the last inspection.

"There have been significant improvements."