Prison inmates in rooftop protest

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Two prisoners are continuing with a rooftop protest at a Devon jail.

An HM Prison Service spokesman said three inmates scaled drainpipes onto the roof at HMP Dartmoor at about 0900 GMT. One has since been talked down.

Trained negotiators are speaking to the prisoners. The reason for their protest is not known.

Don Wood from the Prison Officers' Association said some inmates had taken advantage of the situation and caused some minor damage inside the jail.

The movement of inmates within the jail has been restricted while the protest continues.

'Isolate' prisoners

Officers from HMP Channings Wood near Newton Abbot are being brought in to assist.

Last week prison officers at the Category C jail passed a vote of no confidence in the governor Serena Watts.

Mr Wood said the negotiators will have been brought from outside the jail to deal with the situation.

"Staff have been deployed to keep the prisoners safe and to react to any incident that occurs," he told BBC News.

"The main thing you have to do is isolate the men, but as it's a rooftop incident, it's important the people are qualified and property trained to deal with it."

The prison currently houses 640 category C inmates - prisoners who cannot be trusted in open conditions but who are unlikely to try to escape.

Mr Wood said a common reason for this type of protest was inmates being sent to a prison too far away from family and friends.