A convicted criminal who has just been released from Chelmsford Prison has slammed criticisms of the institution.

James Scrivener claims that conditions in the jail are not as bad as has been made out by prison watchdog groups in recent years.

The 43-year-old from Ashingdon Road, Rochford, was jailed for a year after he was found guilty of intending to produce counterfeit money.

He was tried at Basildon Crown Court in the summer after police found machinery capable of printing cash at his previous home in Dalton's Fen, Pitsea.

He was released three weeks ago and has to wear an electronic tag and obey a 12-hour curfew until February next year.

Although he denied the charge, Mr Scrivener is not angry at his sentence.

He said: "When I was found guilty, I decided I couldn't beat the system and would take my punishment fairly and squarely."

He was taken to Chelmsford Prison and chose to remain there for all of his term inside, rather than be moved to a more open jail.

He said: "I cannot fault the staff. They treat you as you treat them, and if you are polite and helpful, they are in return.

"People complain there are far too many suicides in prison but they cannot really do more to prevent them. When you first get there you are checked upon every 15 minutes, then you are checked on every hour."

Mr Scrivener also praised the quality and choice of food, and the opportunities given for employment.

After three months he was given a job working in the officers' mess which involved actually leaving the prison for up to 12 hours a day.

Mr Scrivener said: "Obviously they only give a job like this to someone they can trust.

He said he saw evidence of bullying - and it was usually connected to drugs.

"I was a red band prisoner and was free to wander around the prison unsupervised to pick up litter. I was asked to pass on drugs and received threats if I did not.

"If you are threatened by someone from another wing you are relatively safe as you will rarely see them.

"Drugs are rife in the prison and are all obtained from visitors. It could be stopped if they screened off the prisoners from the visitors."

However, he added: "I certainly would not want to go back. It's not a holiday camp. But I want people to know that the awful things people say about the terrible conditions are not true."

Prisoner's praise - James Scrivener defends Chelmsford jail

Picture: MAXINE CLARKE

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