Staff at an Oxfordshire prison have received a royal visit from Princess Anne.

The Princess Royal visited Bullingdon Prison near Bicester, as patron of the Butler Trust, a charity which encourages positive care of prisoners.

She toured the segregation unit and meet staff who deal with disturbed convicts.

The Princess also visited the Home Farm Trust at Milton near Abingdon, which provides services for people with a learning disability.

Prison disputes

A group of staff at Bullingdon won the Butler Trust's group award in 2002 for their progressive methods.

However, last week the prison was criticised in a report by the Chief Inspector of Prisons for problems caused by unresolved disputes between staff and management.

The deputy governor, Terrence McLaren, was also recently suspended after being arrested and released on bail in the Operation Ore investigation into child pornography.

Opened in 1993, Bullingdon houses nearly 1,000 male inmates.