'It's the worst prison he's been to' - fears for inmates at troubled jail

"It's the worst prison he's been to," said Kim as she described HMP Lowdham Grange, a Category B jail in Nottinghamshire.

Her son, Luke, arrived at the troubled prison - which has been the subject of numerous critical inquests and reports - in October last year, and she noticed problems straight away.

"After a few days he was being bullied, he was assaulted by an officer, he wasn't getting his medication, he wasn't getting his food, he wasn't getting a shower [or] his appointments," Kim said.

"He was just being neglected, in my mind."

Concerns over conditions at Lowdham Grange have been raised for a number of years.

However, a recent HMP Inspectorate Prisons (HMIP) report said "considerable improvements" had been made at the jail, which has been run by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) since 2023, after serious failures were identified during a previous visit.

Despite improvements, Kim and other families of inmates - some still serving and some who died at the jail - are calling for drastic change.

Luke, from Essex, was sent to Lowdham after being handed a sentence for attacking a prison worker. He was transferred out of the facility in March.

Recalling her concerns during her son's time at Lowdham Grange, Kim told the BBC she tried to raise the alarm by writing to the prison.

However, she said "nothing happened", despite making emergency calls to the prison when Luke was "trying to harm himself near enough every day".

Kim added he did not see a psychiatrist while he was there and did not always receive the right medication, and she described staff on the prison's segregation unit as "downright bullies".

"I actually heard them myself when I was on the phone to my son," she said.

"I heard them talking to other prisoners and calling them all the names under the sun - swear words and everything, telling them they're worthless.

"One of [the prisoners] I actually heard say 'are you going to let me die?' And they actually went 'yeah, it looks like it'... it's just awful."

Martin, Luke's stepfather, added: "The whole system is wrong, and it's obviously down to the people that are in the prison that don't seem to care."

Kim said Luke "has been like a different person since" he left Lowdham Grange, adding she no longer waited by the phone fearing the worst.

"I feel like I've got a little bit of life back because it was just 'Lowdham, Lowdham, Lowdham' every single day - I couldn't go out," she added.

"It's the worst prison he's been to."

The BBC put Kim's allegations to the MoJ, which said it did not comment on individual cases.

Ricky Crosher arrived at Lowdham Grange in July 2023, months after he had been recalled to prison, and died on 11 October that year.

At the time, the prison was run by Sodexo, which took over from Serco on 16 February 2023, after Lowdham Grange became the first jail in England and Wales to be transferred directly from one private provider to another.

Ricky, also from Essex, was the fourth of five prisoners to die that year after being found hanging in their cells.

A series of failings were identified at an inquest into his death, leading to one of a number of prevention of future death reports - a mechanism used by coroners to highlight areas where action is needed to stop similar deaths happening again - issued in relation to deaths at the prison.

Stephen Crosher said the problems at the jail while his son was there were obvious but ignored.

"I sat in that courthouse for three weeks while this inquest went on, and to me, everyone who worked at that prison was incompetent, doing jobs that they shouldn't be doing, not trained to do, unqualified to do, [with] no-one checking on them from above," he said.

"After Ricky's death, within another month or so there [were] another two deaths - now, you can't tell [me] there's nothing wrong when that's happening like that."

Sue Beck, Ricky's mother, criticised "the behaviour and the lack of humanity" of people working at the prison.

"The level of indifference from the staff and the management, it just beggars belief," she added.

"I know they do a hard job, and I'm sure that everyone who does that job must have to harden their heart to some extent, but the level in that prison is just unbelievable."

In a statement, Sodexo said it "fully recognised the coroner's findings" from Ricky's inquest "and would continue to take on board the learnings".

There have been 13 deaths at Lowdham Grange since the government took over the running of the prison - four in 2024 and nine in 2025.

Reports following inspections have highlighted recurring problems with drugs and violence, and relatives of inmates say they worry the prison is still not safe.

One woman whose brother is serving a life sentence - and who the BBC is not naming as he remains in Lowdham Grange - said problems started "as soon as he got there", with personal belongings misplaced and issues with healthcare.

She added she was desperate to get him transferred to a different institution.

"He's been in and out of prison over numerous years, and he's actually said it himself - it's the worst prison he's ever been in," she said.

"My mother's already lost one child, she is constantly anxious... as a family we are so, so scared that we are going to get a phone call one day."

After criticisms from families were put to the MoJ by the BBC, it said it had "made significant improvements in managing prisoners", and pointed to new measures such as having a neurodiversity manager for vulnerable inmates.

It said its safety team was now fully staffed and "ringfenced, meaning that staff cannot be redeployed to carry out alternative routine duties", and that it had upgraded its safer custody telephone system.

"HMP Lowdham Grange is making important progress thanks to expert leadership," the MoJ added.

"We have invested over £40m in physical security across the prison estate, and are investing a further £35m this year at high-risk sites.

"This has helped cut drug use while better staffing has created a safer environment.

"The prison will continue to improve the support it provides to people at risk of self-harm or suicide, alongside better mental health support to help bring self-harm rates down."

Amalia King, a solicitor at DPG Law, has worked with numerous families of Lowdham Grange prisoners at inquests.

She said there was already "a picture of a prison that was in trouble" before Serco handed over to Sodexo in 2023, with "a string of failings that led to a very chaotic handover taking place".

Though the MoJ has now been in place for more than two years, she added, relatives are still concerned about conditions.

"The families are all united, and always say to me the one thing that they want to try and achieve from the inquests is that lessons are really, truly learned so that other people don't have to go through the same pain and suffering that their loved ones and themselves have suffered," said Amalia.

"A number of families have experienced different prisons, and many have said that they feel strongly that being sent to Lowdham Grange was the reason their loved one died.

"There are big questions, not only about the private providers and their responsibilities, but also for the [MoJ] and whether they are in fact fulfilling their obligations to ensure that everybody within prison, whether it's run by a private contractor or [the government], are kept safe."

Amalia believes "a proper criminal investigation into the deaths at Lowdham Grange to look not only at individuals but also the systems in place" is needed.

"It's very difficult when you read their responses to earlier reports, and then you hear the same problems are persisting years later down the line," Amalia added.

This month Nottinghamshire Police confirmed it had received a letter from the coroner, and "will now be reviewing these deaths and identifying affected families".

Conditions at Lowdham Grange were raised in a debate in Parliament by Michelle Welsh, the Labour MP for Sherwood Forest - the constituency in which the prison is based - on 23 June.

She told MPs her office has been "inundated with letters and calls" from families, inmates and prison staff about problems at the prison, and called for action to be taken.

"The unsafe conditions are deeply concerning, not only in their own right, but as a reflection of the wider challenges facing our justice system," she said.

"The risk cannot be allowed to continue - more must be done to support prisoners and support staff in addressing these issues."

Despite improvements, Ricky Crosher's mother, Sue Beck, said she remained to be convinced other inmates would not suffer like her son did.

"I'm not saying it's an easily solved problem, but there is more that could be done, but what is lacking is the will and the money and resources to do what needs doing," she added.

"Lowdham Grange is a prime example of how that complete lack of accountability ends - it ends with people suffering and dying."

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