Court hears of inmates’ ‘terror’ during Ford riots

Prisoners caught up in last year’s New Year’s Day riot told a Crown Court jury how they huddled together as the violence escalated out of control, causing £5m of damage.

Seven men who were inmates at the time of the riot are on trial for a range of charges including prison mutiny.

One former prisoner, known only as H, described the explosion as the “most terrifying thing” he had ever experienced, adding that it happened just seconds after he escaped the burning accommodation billet he was staying in.

Another inmate giving evidence, simply known as J, told jurors he had been packing his belongings after becoming concerned about the escalating situation.

He said: “I was packing my possessions to make sure they were together. I then remember going to my room and by the time I came out, the flames were in my billet.

“I was terrified. I grabbed what I could and made my way to the fire exit door.

“I remember three or four seconds later there was a huge bang, from inside the billet.”

During the trial, at the Hove Trial Centre, members of the jury were shown a brief clip of aerial media footage captured during the disturbances at Ford.

About 20 prisoners could be seen, standing feet away from a burning billet, in the prison’s B wing.

Seconds later there was a large explosion, with inmates fleeing in all directions to avoid the subsequent fireball that rose high into the sky.

J also spoke of his horror as he saw the “intense anarchy” in the prison coming to a head. He told how prison staff were seen running from the riot, leaving masked inmates to rampage through the complex.

He said: “It was rather menacing. We could feel it in the air that something was about to, should I say, ‘kick off’.

“I remember someone saying that there were only two officers on duty and that they had run across the field.

“At the time, I was very scared about what might happen. Prison officers were not there to control it.”

Witness J told the court how he sought refuge with other inmates, in a locked billet room, as the riot began.

On Monday, another former prisoner known only as B, told the court he was among those fighting to extinguish the flames in the prison’s B wing office.

B said that one of the defendants standing trial, Lee Roberts, had threatened him while he tried to combat the blaze.

Roberts, 41, denies a charge of prison mutiny, and stand trial with six others, Thomas Reegan, 23, Ryan Martin, 25, Lennie Franklin, 23, Roche Allen, 25, Paul Hadcroft, 25, and Carneil Francis, 25. All deny prison mutiny.

Roberts, Martin, Franklin, Allen, Hadcroft and Francis have also pleaded not guilty to a charge of violent disorder.

Roberts, Regan, Martin, Franklin, Allen and Hadcroft deny a further charge of arson, being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

Regan has subsequently pleaded guilty to violent disorder and Roberts has pleaded guilty to an offence of arson in the association block.

The case continues.