TEN prisoners who led a mutiny at a Redditch jail have had more than 40 years added to their existing sentences.

The disorder at HMP Hewell began at around 5.15pm on Saturday, July 22, 2017 when a number of prisoners refused to return to their cells.

They were complaining to staff about their living conditions and a smoking ban that had recently been introduced when some became verbally aggressive.

Shortly afterwards, a pool table and table tennis table were tipped over.

Prisoners then began to throw pool balls and chairs at staff causing them to leave the spur due to levels of violence being shown towards them.

While staff were away, cell doors and fire alarms were damaged, glass windows were smashed and door handles were broken off by prisoners.

Several prisoners removed water pipes from washing machines, which caused the wing to flood, and a total of 18 CCTV cameras were damaged.

A number of staff were also injured during the disorder.

In total, tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage was caused and the spur where the incident took place had to be closed down resulting in prisoners being moved to other prisons across the country with only a small group remaining at the Redditch prison.

Eleven prisoners had previously pleaded guilty to participating in a prison mutiny and were today (Friday) sentenced to:

Calvin Gill, 23 - five years

Christopher Edwards, 32 - five years

Kieran Ballard, 29 - four years, four months

Shay Taylor, 23 - five years

Sam Brown, 33 - three years, two months

Liam Fields, 30 - three years, four months

Thomas Rogers, 25 - three years, four months

Rumia Delgado, 31 - three years, four months

Keiko Marshall, 23 - three years, four months

Zac Dillon, 25 - five years, four months

Another defendant, Grant Samed, 32, will be sentenced on February 12.

Two defendants - Matthew Armstrong and Timothy Murphy - had initially denied being involved in the disorder but following a nine-day trial at Birmingham Crown Court earlier this month, they were found guilty of participating in a prison mutiny.

Armstrong, 28, will be sentenced on February 5 while Murphy, 24, will be sentenced on February 7.

All the prisoners' sentences will run consecutively to their current jail terms.

Detective Constable Phil Shadwell, who led the investigation into the disorder, said: "Violence inside a prison will not be tolerated and assaults on members of the emergency services or those working in the public sector will never be acceptable.

"I would like to thank everyone involved in this investigation. It has been a long and complex one, but their hard work has ensured a group of prisoners will be justly punished for their actions.

"I hope these sentences send a clear message that we will do everything we can to thoroughly investigate incidents such as these and, in doing so, ensure offenders are brought to justice.

"I also hope those thinking of taking part in such a disorder in the future will think twice before doing so and can expect lengthy sentences should they decide to participate."

Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said: "The behaviour of these prisoners was completely unacceptable and has rightly been met with the full force of the law.

"I want to ensure prisons are places of stability where offenders can turn their lives around, and I thank our hardworking staff and colleagues at West Mercia Police who have helped to bring these men to justice."