By John Thorne BBC North of England correspondent

As the long night hours of the disturbances dragged on, there was a ghostly presence about the Victorian artificial ramparts of Lincoln Prison.

When the police helicopter flew off to refuel, a freezing cold silence seemed to descend on the overcrowded, redbrick prison.

That is because we knew that although there was an uncontrolled riot continuing somewhere inside the complex, you could not hear it or see it, or smell the rampage of destruction.

From Doncaster and Hull, coachloads of prison officers drove up, discharging men already half-dressed in their protective boiler suits.

The extent of the damage gradually emerged

Men picked up long riot shields from the coaches' luggage hold, adjusted helmets and visors and marched towards the prison gates to reinforce their beleaguered colleagues.

Convoys of police vans also arrived - their function to secure the perimeter of the jail and prevent a mass escape.

And with the blue flashing lights of a dozen fire appliances adding to the spectacle, the action seemed to be on the outside - the silence from within.

Gradually the picture cleared - with a better study you could see the broken windows and bars in C Wing and the smoke of some modest but malicious fires seeping out of the building.

There were conflicting reports about casualties and bland statements about a serious disturbance that hid more than they revealed

Then you noticed the ambulances, urgently ferrying injured inmates from the back entrance of the prison to the accident and emergency unit of the county hospital conveniently situated only 300 yards across the road from the main prison entrance.

Only when they had firmly quelled the riot did the authorities begin to reveal bit by reluctant bit what had really happened for over eight hours inside the jail.

There were conflicting reports about casualties and bland statements about a serious disturbance that hid more than they revealed.

Then the details of how a prison officer had been overpowered, his keys stolen and the rampage of destruction began.

As a full inquiry begins, the regime trying to cope with some 200 prisoners more than its normal capacity was trying to recapture its routine.

Prison vans shuttled inmates to other establishments, edging through the security cordon that still surrounds Lincoln Jail.

The neighbouring county hospital attempted to fulfil its various appointment lists despite the intrusive media army invasion of television satellite trucks and cameramen flooding every car parking space for a best advantage point to observe the riot's aftermath.