DESTRUCTIVE quantities of legal highs led to a prison culture where bullying and sexual violence was rife, a damning new report says.

The influx of psychoactive substances at HMP Haverigg was described as a "game changer" by an independent monitoring board.

Prisoners who were at high risk of escape or had been convicted of very serious crimes were inappropriately transferred to the Category C jail, the report states.

And serious concerns were also raised about the management and prescription of medicines to new inmates - although some progress was noted in the area.

The report relates to the period December 1 2015 to November 30 2016.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: "The justice secretary has been clear that the level of violence and self-harm in our prisons is too high, and has taken immediate action to stabilise the estate.

"Since the inspection, HMP Haverigg has recruited more staff with the specialist knowledge and skills to care for the most vulnerable offenders, and closed unsuitable accommodation standing in the way of real reform. There is also a robust drugs strategy in place to stop the flow of dangerous contraband into the prison.

“These are long-standing issues that won’t be resolved overnight, but our wholescale reforms will lay the groundwork to transform our prisons, reduce reoffending and make our communities safer.”

Partially in response to the spiraling issues of drugs and violence, the number of inmates at the prison was reduced from 654 to 286 last year.

That allowed three accommodation units - about which safety fears had been raised - to be closed, and a restructure of staff was completed.

The report also reveals that:

- A small sinkhole caused by heavy rain turned into a large crater, causing access problems to certain areas of the complex. Staff were praised for their quick response to the matter;

- National intervention teams were called in as the use of so-called legal highs among inmates reached a peak in July and August 2016;

- There is an apparent trend in self harm among prisoners as a way of being transferred to a different prison;

- The way in which a transgender prisoner was dealt with was hailed as sensitive and compassionate;

- Some inmates receive little in the way of visits due to the prison's remote location;

- High-quality food is cooked by kitchen staff - who have a budget of just £2.02 per inmate.

Fears about prisoners being inappropriately housed at Haverigg come after violent armed robber Dean Walker escaped from the jail after attacking a guard in October. He was on the run for a number of days before being caught.

Elsewhere in the report, the way in which equality is tackled at the prison was praised, with a number of examples cited as good practice. Among the examples were prisoners from the travelling community, who, on their first day at Haverigg are met by a fellow traveller inmate when possible.

Meanwhile, opportunities for prisoners while serving their sentence were praised. Roles include everything from wing orderlies to kitchen pot-washers along with building assistants, laundry technicians, farmhands, sewing machine operatives and woodworkers

New MP for Copeland, Trudy Harrison has vowed to write to the Secretary of State for Justice, Liz Truss, to demand Haverigg gets a share of available funding.

She added: "I pay tribute to the hard work done by prison officers under sometimes difficult circumstances, clearly highlighted by this report.

“Prisons should be places of safety and reform, where those who have broken the law are given the right support to tackle addictions, and get the skills they need to find work and turn their back on crime.

“That is why I welcome the measures being taken by the government to tackle these issues in prisons across the country.”

News of Haverigg's report came as a call was made for suicidal prisoners to be given direct phone calls home as part of a raft of measures to reduce the death toll in jails, a senior MP has said.

Former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman spoke out against the "wretched status quo" in prisons after 119 inmates killed themselves last year.

She called for protections for mentally-ill prisoners to be enshrined in law, including limits for the amount of time they can be locked in their cells and faster access to mental health support in secure facilities.

That issue was among those raised by the IMB at Haverigg. The report said: "Some prisoners can be in the [segregation] unit for long periods and the board is concerned about the impact this has on their mental health.

"This year the board has been particularly concerned for two prisoners with significant mental health problems who have been housed in the unit, because they were unable to stay on normal location."

Ms Harman, a former solicitor general, said: "One of the most frightening things for a prisoner who is suffering the misery and fear of mental illness is being out of touch with their family.

"A desperate, confused and terrified mentally-ill prisoner can't stand on a wing queuing for a phone, can't find their way through pin numbers or get permission.

"Phone technology is perfectly advanced enough now for there to be a system for suicidal prisoners to be able to call home."