Prison inmate 'cut off his own penis and tried to flush it down the toilet'

Paramedics were called to HMP Bristol on Friday after the man was found bleeding and barely conscious by prison wardens
Self-inflicted: The Prison Service said no other prisoners were involved in the incident at HMP Bristol
SWNS
Jamie Bullen30 September 2015

A prisoner was rushed to hospital with severe bleeding after he cut off his own penis before trying to flush it down the toilet.

Paramedics were called to HMP Bristol on Friday at 10am after wardens discovered a man, aged in his 40s, bleeding and barely conscious.

Medics managed to stem the blood before he was taken to nearby Southmead Hospital.

A Prison Service spokesman has said the injury was self-inflicted and no other prisoners were involved.

In November 2007, emergency services dealt with a similar incident at the prison when a man serving a sentence for possession of a knife attempted to cut off his penis using a razor.

He suffered deep lacerations and was taken to hospital.

According to the Ministry of Justice, HMP Bristol is a category B prison for adult male prisoners and a limited number of young offenders.

Most inmates stay for less than a year.

The Prison Reform Trust highlighted the rise of self-harming incidents as a by product of reducing staff in overcrowded prisons.

Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: "The trust is concerned about rising levels of violence and self-harm incidents across the prison estates and the drastic reductions in the number of staff.

"Prisons hold a number of people with complex needs, some of whom could be diverted at police stations or courts into the treatment they need.

"For those who have to be in custody I think more could be done for them."

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