FEMALE inmates at Highpoint Prison are being kept in inadequate and unsafe buildings and face a high risk of being bullied or attacked, a new report has revealed.

FEMALE inmates at Highpoint Prison are being kept in inadequate and unsafe buildings and face a high risk of being bullied or attacked, a new report has revealed.

The problems have been highlighted by the Chief Inspector of Prisons, Anne Owers, who has compiled contrasting reports on the men's and women's sections of the Suffolk jail, near Haverhill.

Both sections of the prison are facing problems with staff shortages, increased prisoner numbers, drug abuse and unsuitable conditions.

But while Highpoint South, the men's prison, is improving, the women's section, Highpoint North, has fundamental problems.

The inspector has now ruled the prisons must be completely separated, given different names and identities and managed independently from each other.