AN inmate at Cumbria's only jail committed suicide last year as alarming national figures showed that a record number of people killed themselves in prisons in England and Wales in 2016.

It's the first time in two years that an inmate has killed themselves while in custody at HMP Haverigg after 23-year-old dad-of-one, Richard Scott Green, of Broad Close, Barrow, was found hanged in his cell in 2014.

Two people died in total last year while in custody at the correctional facility near Millom. The same number died in 2015 but both of these were put down to natural causes.

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Prison violence and self harm rockets at Cumbria jail

Since 1978, seven inmates at HMP Haverigg have killed themselves with two suicides recorded in one year in 2008.

In September last year, the Evening Mail exclusively revealed that two deaths and a series of alleged sex assaults were being investigated by Cumbria Constabulary under 'Operation Knightsbridge.'

A spokesman for the constabulary said that the two deaths occurred in June and July last year and that HMP Haverigg was co-operating fully with the investigation, which is ongoing.

Statistics released by the Ministry of Justice paint a grim picture across the country as figures showed that a record 354 people died while in custody last year - up 97 from 2015. Of these, 119 were self-inflicted, with the rate of suicides doubling in just four years.

Incidents of self-harm also reached a record high with 37,784 recorded incidents - up 6,967 from the previous year. There were also an alarming number of attacks with assaults against staff up by 40 per cent compared to the same period in 2015.

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Justice secretary Liz Truss warned that it would take a long time to fix the prison system as she recognised that levels of violence, self-harm and deaths in custody were "too high."

She added: "I have taken immediate action to stabilise the estate by tackling the drugs, drones and phones that undermine security.

"We are also investing £100 million annually to boost the front line by 2,500 officers.

"These are long-standing issues that will not be resolved in weeks or months but our wholescale reforms will lay the groundwork to transform our prisons, reduce reoffending and make our communities safer."