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The largest youth prison in the country has been under investigation after five teenage inmates suffered broken bones while being restrained, documents leaked to the Guardian show.
The injuries took place at Hindley young offenders' institution near Wigan between 2009 and 2011. The prison holds more than 400 male inmates aged between 15 and 18.
In one instance at the prison, handcuffs were placed on a boy, despite a nurse writing on his medical notes that officers should refrain from using restraints on his left wrist because of a "possible fracture".
In another incident, the force used on a 16-year-old was the subject of two investigations which were never published, but are part of documents seen by the Guardian.
They show that in March 2011, the teenager had refused to go to his room. Two prison officers say he grabbed a broom handle and threatened them with it, but an ombudsman's report said that CCTV evidence clearly shows the boy "put his hand on the broom handle for a fraction of a second and almost immediately took his hand away from it".
An ombudsman said the force used was "not reasonable, necessary or proportionate". The teenager was restrained using a back hammer wrist lock – when an inmate is held face down on the floor and their arms twisted up behind them – and, according to some claims, continued to be held in this position after the boy's wrist was broken.
An investigation by the prisons and probation ombudsman found an officer at the prison had been the subject of 15 complaints of inappropriate behaviour towards inmates at Hindley between September 2010 and May 2012, including two incidents where wrists were broken. The complaints were not upheld and no further action was deemed necessary.
Caroline Willow, the former national coordinator for the Children's Rights Alliance for England, said the documents leaked to the Guardian showed the abuse at the prison would have been buried had one of the inmates not complained to the prisons and probation ombudsman. She said the use of "back hammers" was abusive and highly dangerous as it constricts breathing.
The use of restraint on children in custody is a contentious issue. In 2004, 15-year-old Gareth Myatt died from asphyxia while being restrained by three custody officers at Rainsbrook secure training centre, near Rugby. In August of the same year, 14-year-old Adam Rickwood hanged himself after being restrained in Hassockfield secure training centre, County Durham. Both had been restrained for refusing an order.
In 2011, a report by the chief inspector of prisons found that restraint had been used for non-compliance 84 times, a fall since the previous year. Inspectors noted all incidents they investigated had started with a refusal to comply with an instruction.
The Independent Monitoring Board, which monitors prisoners welfare, refused to comment on the Hindley incidents.
A Prison Service spokesman said a new restraint system was being implemented which had been specifically developed for use by staff working with young people in custody. "We are clear restraint should only ever be used against young people as a last resort where it is absolutely necessary to do so and where no other form of intervention is possible or appropriate," the spokesman said.
The National Offender Management Service, which is responsible for the welfare and supervision of around 260,000 offenders in prison and on probation, said all prison staff are trained in control and restraint, and receive an update every year.
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