HMP Kirkham: 28 scenes which offer a glimpse of life behind the walls of Kirkham Prison through 60 years service
By Claire Lark
Published 26th Aug 2022, 15:45 BST
Updated 26th Aug 2022, 21:45 BST
Kirkham Prison is 60 this month and these photos offer a rare insight into life inside.
The prison is the Fylde Coast’s only jail and opened in 1962. The actual site started out life as an RAF base and continued until 1945 where it remained closed until the facility was taken over by the Home Office and susequently opened as a prison. There had been a public inquiry into the Prison Commissioner’s plans to turn the site into a prison, with residents concerned about escapes, and the temptations of having a seaside resort nearby. These pictures show the site throughout the years - from an empty building in 1960, to the more recent past and offer a glimpse inside the cells at varying stages throughout the past six decades as well as key moments in its history.
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Prison Officer Robert Ellis and sniffer dog Rio where Operation Alcataraz had been completed to prevent drugs from entering the prison in 2004 Photo: Martin Bostock
Pupils at Carr Hill High School in Kirkham were given two graphic demonstrations of the consequences of breaking the law with a mock prison cell and car crash involving a drink driver. One of the pupils experiences what a spell in prison would have been like in 2009 Photo: Rob Lock