A probe has been launched after a female inmate died at a jail which has been plagued by a spate of prisoner deaths.
Sarah Boyle, 35, was found collapsed at HMP Styal, a women’s prison in Wilmslow, Cheshire.
Ms Boyle died of self-inflicted wounds at Wythenshawe Hospital on July 20, it has been reported.
The Prison Service confirmed Ms Boyle’s death and that a probe will be carried out by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO).
A Prison Service spokesman said: ‘Sarah Boyle died on July 20 at Wythenshawe Hospital. As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate.
‘Our thoughts remain with Ms Boyle’s family and friends.’
HMP Styal houses around 480 female inmates in a mixture of dormitories and individual cells
An inquest into Ms Boyle’s death is expected to be opened by Cheshire Coroner’s Court.
Ms Boyle is the latest in a string of deaths at the jail, where there have been at least 11 suicides since 2007, the highest number of any women’s prison in England.
Among them was Annelise Sanderson, a vulnerable 18-year-old from Runcorn, who was found dead in her cell on December 22, 2020.
She had been jailed for 52 weeks in June 2020 after assaulting a paramedic who tried to help her when she tried to set herself on fire at a petrol station.
She is the youngest person to die at the prison in the last two decades, and an inquest into her death found a breakdown in communication between professionals and poor record-keeping over her care.
Former inmates have condemned the prison as ‘hell on earth’ and ‘no place for a vulnerable young woman’, according to an investigation in March by BBC North West.
Francesca Barker-Mills, 36, who was jailed for two months for fraud in December 2020, told BBC North West: ‘The first thing that resonates with me was the screaming.
Annelise Sanderson, 18, is the youngest person to die at Styal prison in the last two decades
Imogen Mellor, 29, was the first suicide at HMP Styal since 2016, according to the prisons watchdog
‘There was blood spatter on the walls. It was horrible. My first two weeks in Styal were during Covid so I spent 14 nights alone in the cell block.
‘No human contact, no outdoor time, no prescribed medication.
‘I am very lucky to be alive because I had many opportunities to kill myself. There was a complete lack of care and support.’
Ms Barker-Mills said she was ‘devastated’ by Ms Sanderson’s death, adding: ‘She was a baby.
‘I was a 30-something woman when I got sent to prison. I had lived a life of many choices, and she didn’t have that opportunity.
‘She made mistakes and needed help yet found herself in the same pit of monsters as me. It was no place for a vulnerable young woman.’
Last December, inmate Laura Parry, 59, was reportedly found dead on Waite Wing, a large purpose-built unit with accomodation for more than 130 women.
Ms Parry died on December 15, and six days later, Sarah Jackson, 46, died at the Valentina unit, which houses inmates needing a temporary ‘timeout and respite’.
Christine McDonald, 55, killed herself at the prison on March 3, 2019, a day after fears had been raised over her health by staff at the prison.
An inquest into Ms McDonald’s death heard she was sent to prison on March 1, 2019 for stealing low-cost items including shampoo, bubble bath, hair dye and cheese and failing to comply with an element of a suspended sentence.
She was taken to Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester the following day after fears were raised about her health during a medical appointment in the prison.
But she was sent back to prison the same day and hours later, at 11pm, was discovered in her cell with serious self-inflicted injuries.
She died the next day, March 3.
Her inquest ruled neglect played a part in her suicide, with the jury concluding staff had failed to adhere to proper healthcare guidelines.
Imogen Mellor, 29, from Lancashire, hanged herself in her shared cell on July 4, 2018, and was the first ‘self-inflicted death’ at HMP Styal since 2016, a PPO report said.
Despite attempts to resuscitate her, she died in hospital that same evening, the watchdog said.
Ms Mellor had started a 21-month sentence for theft and unlawful wounding just seven months earlier after attacking a massage parlour boss with a rubber mallet before going on the run with her partner.
HMP Styal houses around 480 female inmates in a mixture of dormitories and individual cells.
The prison also has a Mother and Baby Unit for women with babies up to the age of 18 months old.
Following six suicides in a year, an urgent review was carried out in 2003 into the care of vulnerable women at Styal and other prisons.
In a subsequent report, Baroness Jean Corston said she was ‘dismayed to see so many women frequently sentenced for short periods of time for very minor offences’ and urged a more ‘woman-centred approach’ focusing on therapy and rehabilitation.
The mental health budget at Styal prison was reportedly tripled to £1.5m after Ms Sanderson’s death.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: ‘The number of women in prison has fallen considerably since 2010 and we are continuing to invest millions into community services to steer female offenders away from jail and help get their lives back on track.
‘However, for those women who judges decide must serve a prison sentence we are transforming the mental health support on offer in our jails, including tailored, round-the-clock care, extra face-to-face time with specialist staff and improved self-harm training for all frontline officers.’
• For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support
