{"id":483862,"date":"2025-10-08T20:45:23","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T20:45:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/483862\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T20:45:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T20:45:23","slug":"chilling-rise-in-uk-prison-drone-incursions-bringing-in-contraband-channel-4-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/483862\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Chilling\u2019 rise in UK prison drone incursions \u2013 bringing in contraband \u2013 Channel 4 News"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

The number of illegal drone incursions<\/a> into prisons in England and Wales is soaring amid warnings it has \u201cnever been easier\u201d to get drugs and banned items inside.<\/p>\n

Data examined by this programme shows reported incidents involving drones have risen by more than 1,000% in the last five years.<\/p>\n

The cargo they carry: drugs, phones and even allegedly weapons.<\/a> The impact: violence, chaos and more crime \u2013 on a system meant to deliver rehabilitation.<\/p>\n

A prison service source confirmed to us that in one recent incident a drone crashed and intelligence was received that weapons had got inside the jail. Lockdown cell searches discovered a spent shotgun cartridge and sketches of a gun. The Ministry of Justice say they have no record of this.<\/p>\n

And after another drone sighting, we understand, prisoners barricaded the cell so staff couldn\u2019t get in to retrieve the package.<\/p>\n

Now the Prison Governors\u2019 Association is warning that organised crime gangs controlling the drones are out-running the authorities.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s never been easier to get drugs into prison\u2019<\/p>\n

Andy Laidlaw has quit a job he loved. He was deputy governor at HMP Garth in Lancashire. But he left in June last year because he felt he could no longer work to rehabilitate prisoners amid the perfect storm of issues battering the system.<\/p>\n

Resources were tight, there were not enough staff and many officers lacked vital experience. And then there were the drones.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrugs and other illicit items in prisons, it\u2019s never been easier to get them in, and it means organised crime are making hay. It makes it incredibly difficult when drugs are freely available \u2013\u00a0 and because of the drones they are freely available.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Andy Laidlaw<\/p>\n

Andy said it has always been like cat and mouse trying to keep up with organised crime\u2019s activities inside prison but, on the whole, managers like him could keep a lid on things. But drones make that harder and harder, with some prisons seeing drone drops every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bit chilling because you can see the drone and its cargo,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t know where it\u2019s going and you don\u2019t know how to stop it. So you\u2019re literally just trying to see which side it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n

In January 2024, 400-metre Drone Restricted Fly Zones were introduced around all closed prisons and young offender institutions in England and Wales, making it an offence to pilot a drone in the restricted areas without authorisation.<\/p>\n

Andy said a drone can be flown to one area of a prison as a decoy. Staff go running in that direction \u2013 and then another one is flown in while no one is looking.<\/p>\n

Channel 4 News has examined Ministry of Justice data on drone incidents in prisons in England and Wales going back to 2021 when there were 138 in the year to March. That figure has shot up to 1,712 in 2025 \u2013 an increase of more than 1,000%.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And the lack of resources combined with the dangers posed by organised crime means, Andy said, the safety of prisoners and staff becomes an almost daily worry.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cWhen you literally can\u2019t keep people safe, that\u2019s quite a heavy burden to drive home with.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWhen you literally can\u2019t keep people safe, that\u2019s quite a heavy burden to drive home with.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013 Andy Laidlaw<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The bottom line, he warned, was that spending money on prisons wasn\u2019t a vote-winner.<\/p>\n

Successive governments have been aware of the problems \u201cbut it\u2019s almost like they listen and then cross their fingers\u201d. It will take two to five years to make a meaningful difference to the staffing crisis, he said.<\/p>\n

Andy added: \u201cPeople don\u2019t realise that communities would be safer, better places to live if the people put in prison came out and they were able to become stable citizens and contribute to society rather than creating victims.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Gang culture is growing in jails\u2019<\/p>\n

Chris Buckland is a recovering drug user who said he committed crime to support his addiction.\u00a0 He now volunteers with the rehabilitation charity Forward Trust.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe gang culture is just growing and growing and growing, which in turn is causing more violence,\u201d he told Channel 4 News.<\/p>\n

He has had two periods in prison \u2013 a decade apart.<\/p>\n

\"\"Chris Buckland<\/p>\n

By the second spell, he said criminal gangs had intensified their grip on life inside \u2013 offering a menu of illegal items. Everything from phones to drugs like spice, to whoever could pay.<\/p>\n

\u201c5, 10, 15 quid worth of spice. Ring up telephone banking, transfer X amount of money into the dealer\u2019s account or their friend\u2019s or their family\u2019s account. As soon as they get the message \u2018has that money gone into the account?\u2019 \u2018Yes it has.\u2019 The spice would just come under the door. Like a Deliveroo system inside a prison.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe spice would just come under the door. Like a Deliveroo system inside a prison.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013 Chris Buckland<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Chris said the gangs were determined to continue operating their market inside jails because it\u2019s so lucrative \u2013 and they recruit prisoners to take drones through their windows any way they can.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf these gangs get hold of someone who is potentially vulnerable, they will squeeze and squeeze and squeeze,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to do this for me or we\u2019ll stab you, we\u2019ll beat you, we\u2019ll kill you, the threats are endless. They can get hold of their family, their loved ones, Facebook, Tik-Tok social media \u2013 they\u2019ll use that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chris now creates videos documenting his recovery journey to encourage others.<\/p>\n

\u2018Lethal\u2019 3D-printed machetes among items<\/p>\n

Brenda\u2019s son Ian is serving time in one of the UK\u2019s high security prisons. We\u2019ve changed their names to protect him.<\/p>\n

One day he called her.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said: \u2018Mum, you should have seen it last night\u2026I was looking out the window and it was like Blackpool. All the lights\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a dark side to the night-time light show.<\/p>\n

She told us: \u201cIt\u2019s the drones. Drones coming into the prisons. It\u2019s how they get all the goods in, all the drugs, the phones and he said you name it, you can get anything you want in this prison. Iphones, chargers, sim cards, 3D-printed machetes, they\u2019re plastic but they\u2019re lethal. He said it\u2019s ruthless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drones are a crucial tool used by the criminal gangs running swathes of the country\u2019s prisons. But they also need a steady stream of prisoners to take the risk of bringing the deliveries through their cell window \u2013 whether they volunteer or not.<\/p>\n

Brenda said her son was put under pressure to take a drone in through his window.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said he didn\u2019t want to do it and they said no, we\u2019re not asking you, we\u2019re telling you it\u2019s coming, it\u2019ll be there at 10.30 tonight,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou make sure you get it. Of course, he didn\u2019t do it. He said he switched his light off, he put himself in bed and he was having nothing to do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The consequences were swift and horrific.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was burnt. They burnt him with melted down sugar and boiling water. His face, his hands and his arm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brenda says her son was then attacked twice more \u2013 and left in no doubt why.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been told: \u2018we will go and we will get your family\u2019,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can find them quicker than you would ever imagine. My son will either take his own life or he will be killed because he won\u2019t conform. He\u2019ll be coming out in a body bag. I don\u2019t want him to die.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cMy son will either take his own life or he will be killed because he won\u2019t conform. He\u2019ll be coming out in a body bag. I don\u2019t want him to die.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013 \u2018Brenda\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A Ministry of Justice Spokesperson said:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThis government inherited a prison system in crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrones pose a serious risk to prison security. That is why we are investing \u00a340 million in new security measures to clamp down on the contraband that fuels violence behind bars \u2013\u00a0 including \u00a310 million on anti-drone measures such as exterior netting and reinforced windows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch more here:<\/p>\n

The Arsenal legend highlighting addiction recovery in prisons<\/a><\/p>\n

Prisons minister: \u2018There are too many drugs in prisons\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Damning report on condition of prisons in England and Wales<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The number of illegal drone incursions into prisons in England and Wales is soaring amid warnings it has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":483863,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[748,393,4884,1144,712,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-483862","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"category-united-kingdom","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-northern-ireland","13":"tag-scotland","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115340504445428186","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=483862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}