JAILS in Dorset should be closed in favour of new super-prisons, a new report has recommended.

Dorchester Prison, the Young Offender Institution (YOI) on Portland and the Verne are among those in the firing line.

Former YOI governor and deputy director at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) Kevin Lockyer, has written the document for the think-tank Policy Exchange.

He has recommended that 30 ‘run down and poorly located’ jails should be closed and replaced with super-prisons holding up to 3,000 inmates.

He says that the MoJ could meet its entire 2015/16 spending commitments by swapping old jails for 10 to 12 new plus-size prisons.

Dorchester, the YOI, the Verne and Guys Marsh in north Dorset are among those Mr Lockyer said could be closed.

But the area would not be home to a new super-prison under the proposals with the facility instead proposed for a site near Bristol.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has welcomed the report.

He said: “The report is absolutely right to highlight that much of our prison estate is old and inefficient, and that we need to bring its cost down.

“We are constantly reviewing it to ensure that it meets the needs of the prison population and provides the best value for money for the taxpayer.

“I never want the courts to be in a position where they cannot send a criminal to prison because there is no place available.

“So we have to move as fast as we can to replace the older parts of our prison system.

“That's why we are moving ahead with immediate plans for new capacity and developing proposals for the next generation of prisons.''

Mr Lockyer said the construction of the new prisons could be financed through public sector borrowing, private finance or development finance and claims the savings would amount to around £10 billion over a 25-year repayment period.

He said the Government should focus on cutting the cost per prisoner, rather than simply closing prisons and reducing prisoner numbers.

The report shows that a quarter of prisons are Victorian or older while a further quarter were built in the 1960s and 1970s, often to poor standards and designs with poor materials.

Mr Lockyer said: “We are busting the myth that small is beautiful when it comes to prisons. In fact, newer prisons outperform older ones, regardless of their size.

“We need to build larger, newer facilities that use the most up-to-date technology to monitor inmates.

“New hub prisons will not only reduce reoffending and improve safety - they will also deliver vast financial savings and better value for money for the taxpayer.''