Anne Owers: Inmates may be spending 23 hours a day in a shared cell

Women, new arrivals, drug users and the mentally ill are most at risk of self-harm and suicide, Anne Owers said.

In local prisons one in four women self-harm - some repeatedly, she added.

Suicide prevention measures, extra care early in sentences and good drug treatment were key, but these are threatened by overcrowding, she said.

Shop-lifting charges

The report comes just two days after the death of a 28-year-old man who had been on suicide watch in Exeter prison over the weekend.

Craig Roach, 28, from Yeovil, was discovered by staff on Sunday morning after one night in the jail.

The Prison Service said Mr Roach had been on suicide watch while on remand from Taunton Magistrates' Court where he had been facing minor shop-lifting charges. He had not been convicted and it was his first time in prison.

An investigation, led by a senior member of the Prison Service, has been launched.

The report by the Chief Inspector of Prisons said that in the most overcrowded local prisons, inmates may be spending 23 hours a day in a shared cell with an unscreened toilet.

Women are particularly badly served by the prison system, Ms Owers said.

The needs of women are in danger of being neglected Anne Owers Chief Inspector of Prisons

"The needs of women are acute and in danger of being neglected or disregarded," she concluded.

Figures for 2003 showed there had been 94 prison suicides in total, one less than in 2002 but up on previous years.

But there was a significant increase in female suicides.

Some 14 women prisoners took their own lives in 2003, up from nine the previous year.

Six of the female victims in 2003 committed suicide within the first eight days of their sentence.

Self-harm

Self-harm also rose, with a 30% increase in reported incidents.

Good care and support from staff saves many lives, but such instances go largely unreported Prison service

In the first six months of 2003, 7,700 men and women deliberately injured themselves, often in the first two days of being in custody.

Women were more likely to self-harm than men, the report said, with a large proportion hurting themselves in the first month of their sentence.

With 25% of women self-harming in local prisons, Ms Owers said: "This is an indicator, if one were needed, of the extreme levels of distress among women in prison."

In response the Prison Service pointed out the scale of the problems it faces.

It said that 90% of all prisoners have a diagnosable mental health problem, substance abuse problem or both.

It pointed out that a range of initiatives were being developed to ensure that mentally-ill people who come into contact with the criminal justice system receive appropriate care in the right setting.

A spokesman also added: "Deaths in prison remain a rare event.

"Good care and support from staff saves many lives, but such instances go largely unreported."