By Laura Smith-Spark BBC News

Behind the bars of Brixton prison, a children's Halloween party was in full swing.

Fathers dressed in orange prison overalls painted their sons' and daughters' faces, while wives and mothers looked on.

Unlike a normal prison visit, inmates can play with their children

This unlikely scene was played out in almost 50 jails in the past two weeks - part of a drive to build bonds between inmates and their relatives.

The initiative, run by charity Action for Prisoners' Families and backed by the Prison Service, recognises that keeping the family together can also keep people out of jail.

Many families are deterred from visiting relatives by the difficulties of reaching a jail miles from their home.

On arrival, they will be frisked for drugs before being ushered through a series of locked doors to a strictly monitored visiting area - not the most welcoming environment for children.

If you want them to become part of a proper community, you need them to go out of prison to a home and someone who cares about them John Podmore Brixton Prison governor 'A sentence you do with them' 'Jail turned my life around'

The result is 45% of offenders lose contact with relatives while inside and a fifth of marriages break up, says Action for Prisoners' Families.

The governor of Brixton, John Podmore, said changing that damaging pattern by holding family days meant a lot more than just making inmates' lives happier.

He said: "If you are a long-term drug user, the first victims are your family.

"It's not the lady in Tunbridge Wells who reads the Daily Mail you steal from, it's your mother, father, kids, the person in the flat below.

"So they alienate their families... the families lose faith in them and the break-down in social relationships accelerates.

Many families are put off by prison security and limited visit times

"If you want them to become part of a proper community, you need them to go out of prison to a home and someone who cares about them."

The 12 prisoners selected for Brixton's family Halloween party have worked hard for the privilege, said Mr Podmore.

Almost all were signed up to the Category B jail's Family Man course, which teaches social responsibility, and many work 12-hour days in the prison's kitchen or workshops.

A lack of money for prison staff meant visits even in the corridor-like area where visitors and offenders usually meet, hunched across rows of tables, were limited.

Cocaine smuggling

Demand among Brixton's 800 inmates for the more relaxed family days was therefore far higher than could be satisfied.

Mr Podmore, 50, rejected a common perception that visits were little more than a way to smuggle in drugs for the 80% of his prisoners who were primary crack cocaine users.

But he admitted the idea of a "family-friendly" prison did not sit easily with people who saw jail as a place for retribution.

He argues that being deprived of your liberty is punishment enough - and time in prison should be used to equip people for life outside, beating the "revolving door" of release and reoffending.

Many women come off drugs like heroin in their cells with little help

Mr Podmore describes himself as a "dating agency for services", giving prisoners access to the education, drugs detox programmes and advice which can keep their chaotic lives together outside jail.

Poor literacy, numeracy and self-esteem are boosted through Shakespeare and stand-up comedy workshops and vocational qualifications.

Mr Podmore said: "For the time they are here we have got to treat them humanely and decently. This is about treating people properly as human beings, with all the complexities they have."

If you want to stop your kids falling into the same cycle of crime as yourself, you have got to tell them how to stop it yourselves John Podmore

In the 18 months since he took charge, the jail has risen from the very bottom of the league table of 135 prisons to 15th.

The governor hopes Brixton's emphasis on rebuilding family bonds will keep the next generation on the straight and narrow.

National research suggests 150,000 children every year are affected by the imprisonment of a parent.

Julian Corner, chief executive of the Revolving Doors Agency, said: "The knock-on effects [of imprisonment] are family breakdowns, exacerbation of mental health problems, decline in financial stability and housing.

"These are all factors in these children then going on to become offenders in the future, so the inter-generational impact is enormous."

Mr Podmore agrees: "A lot of these kids, if they are not parented properly, will become offenders too.

"If you want to stop your kids falling into the same cycle of crime as yourself, you have got to tell them how to stop it yourselves."