OVERCROWDING in Dorset prisons is still an issue but not as serious as jails in other parts of the country.

Figures obtained by the Howard League for Penal Reform reveal the scale of prison overcrowding in England and Wales.

The number of prisoners, on average, who were forced to share an overcrowded cell for one at Dorchester was 176 while at the Verne it was 55 and 92 at Guys Marsh.

There was none at Portland’s YOI.

At Dorchester there was also said to be an average of one incident where prisoners were sharing overcrowded cells designed for two.

In total the figures, from 2012-13, show that about 19,140 prisoners on average were forced to share a cell designed for one person in England and Wales.

The worst-affected prison was Wandsworth, where on a typical day 835 prisoners were forced to share cells, which contain an open toilet.

Other overcrowded prisons included Altcourse, Doncaster, Birmingham, Pentonville, Preston, Manchester, Elmley, Nottingham and Durham.

The figures come less than a week after a report showed prison staff numbers have fallen by 17 per cent over the last four years.

Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “At last, we have the picture of the real state of overcrowding in our prisons. It’s far worse than anyone imagined: one in four people behind bars are packed like sardines into cramped cells.

“If the Ministry of Justice is serious about reducing reoffending it must tackle overcrowding now.

“Successive governments have peddled the lie that you can build your way out of a prison overcrowding problem.”