Source · Deaths in custody

PPO Fatal Incident Reports

6,563 incidents 5,801 published 1,698 recommendations 1,676 self-inflicted 3,427 natural causes

Deaths in custody investigated by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. Among the incidents indexed here, 26% are recorded as self-inflicted. Source: PPO.

Theme: policy · Remove

Incidents

115 records

Martin Collins

HMP HighpointDate of death 25 November 2023

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published1 recommendation indexed

PPO entry published 17 October 2025

Sidney Hughes

HMP WymottDate of death 24 November 2023

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 11 October 2024

Davey Price

HMP Forest BankDate of death 27 October 2023

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published3 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 1 November 2024

Ricky Crosher

HMP Lowdham GrangeDate of death 11 October 2023

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published3 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 3 December 2025

Carl Bennett

HMP OakwoodDate of death 25 August 2023

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 22 July 2025

Mark Apperley

HMP Long LartinDate of death 7 August 2023

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published1 recommendation indexed

PPO entry published 30 January 2026

Dean Hood

HMP NottinghamDate of death 22 July 2023

Other non-naturalInvestigation: Report published1 recommendation indexed

PPO entry published 22 July 2024

Samuel Stewart

HMP Wormwood ScrubsDate of death 15 July 2023

Other non-naturalInvestigation: Report published1 recommendation indexed

PPO entry published 23 June 2025

Amy Cross

HMP/YOI Eastwood ParkDate of death 10 June 2023

Other non-naturalInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 28 October 2025

Kirsten Hocking

HMP/YOI DownviewDate of death 24 May 2023

Other non-naturalInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 26 June 2025

Michael Kinnear

HMP WymottDate of death 11 May 2023

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published1 recommendation indexed

PPO entry published 1 November 2024

Steven Blake

HMP HaveriggDate of death 28 April 2023

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 19 December 2025

Frank Ospina

Colnbrook Immigration Removal CentreDate of death 26 March 2023

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published4 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 15 October 2024

Michael Tucker

HMP WaylandDate of death 22 March 2023

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 13 June 2024

Tucker, Michael

HMP WaylandDate of death 22 March 2023

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 24 May 2024

Lee Walker

Clarks House Approved PremisesDate of death 13 March 2023

Other non-naturalInvestigation: Report published1 recommendation indexed

PPO entry published 8 July 2024

Keith Gadd

HMP BristolDate of death 9 March 2023

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 20 August 2025

Christopher Corkill

Isle of ManDate of death 24 February 2023

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published15 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 25 July 2024

Reece Godward

HMP LeedsDate of death 23 February 2023

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 25 October 2024

Jamie Andrews

HMP BristolDate of death 4 December 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 3 October 2024

Anderson, Craig

Isle of Man PrisonDate of death 25 November 2022

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published15 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 29 April 2024

John Eyre

HMP SwalesideDate of death 20 November 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published1 recommendation indexed

PPO entry published 27 March 2025

Ian Kettles

HMP BristolDate of death 11 November 2022

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published4 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 7 February 2025

Russell Irvine

HMP DurhamDate of death 7 November 2022

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published5 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 8 July 2024

Colin Lovett

HMP The VerneDate of death 29 October 2022

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published4 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 12 June 2025

Anderson Barker

HMP PeterboroughDate of death 21 October 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 16 July 2025

John Warry

HMP StaffordDate of death 25 September 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published10 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 12 December 2025

Christopher Keeling

HMP/YOI DoncasterDate of death 18 September 2022

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published3 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 16 August 2024

Lisa Sherrington

HMP/YOI Low NewtonDate of death 26 August 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published1 recommendation indexed

PPO entry published 14 November 2024

Max Marchant

HMP The MountDate of death 25 July 2022

Other non-naturalInvestigation: Report published13 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 19 March 2025

Leon Cadman

HMP PeterboroughDate of death 12 July 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published4 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 11 September 2024

Kayleigh Melhuish

HMP/YOI Eastwood ParkDate of death 7 July 2022

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published8 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 28 October 2024

Huston, Trevor

HMP Forest BankDate of death 4 June 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published5 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 10 May 2024

Ricardo Cotteral

HMP SudburyDate of death 24 April 2022

HomicideInvestigation: Report published5 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 28 February 2025

Mehrban Hussain

HMP Wormwood ScrubsDate of death 1 April 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published5 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 18 December 2025

Gordon Dunn

HMP The VerneDate of death 31 March 2022

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published5 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 9 August 2024

Esson, Stuart

HMP RochesterDate of death 12 February 2022

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published9 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 10 April 2024

Aaron Bridges

Albion Street Approved PremisesDate of death 17 January 2022

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published1 recommendation indexed

PPO entry published 14 July 2025

Blake Wallis

HMP LincolnDate of death 3 January 2022

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published1 recommendation indexed

PPO entry published 6 June 2025

Hughes, Lee

HMP WandsworthDate of death 25 December 2021

Other non-naturalInvestigation: Report published3 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 28 March 2024

David Wise

HMP WandsworthDate of death 15 December 2021

Other non-naturalInvestigation: Report published2 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 11 April 2025

Ian Davies

HMP BristolDate of death 6 December 2021

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published7 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 11 July 2025

William Roalfe

HMP Channings WoodDate of death 20 November 2021

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published9 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 11 September 2024

Paul Gobell

HMP WhattonDate of death 6 November 2021

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published3 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 6 December 2024

Ryan Harris

HMP CardiffDate of death 1 October 2021

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published3 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 8 July 2024

Keith Williams

HMP DovegateDate of death 12 July 2021

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published14 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 20 September 2024

Akhtar Hussain

HMP ManchesterDate of death 8 July 2021

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published12 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 27 November 2024

Shahrooz Ghassemian

HMP WandsworthDate of death 21 June 2021

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published10 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 3 October 2024

Robert Stephens

HMP The VerneDate of death 28 May 2021

Natural causesInvestigation: Report published5 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 11 July 2025

Sebastião Lucas

HMP WandsworthDate of death 12 May 2021

Self-inflictedInvestigation: Report published6 recommendations indexed

PPO entry published 6 January 2026

Top recommendation themes

healthcare (299) safeguarding (238) emergency_response (158) record_keeping (140) communication (130) policy (125) mental_health (115) safety (106) training (91) medication (80)

Learning & thematic publications

112 cross-establishment publications

Learning Lessons Bulletins (50), thematic reviews (2), consultation responses (11), Policy into Practice (5), annual reports (7) and FOI responses from the Ombudsman's disclosure log (37): the systemic patterns the Ombudsman draws from many investigations.

Title	Type	Date	Source
The number of complaints received by the PPO from 1 January 2023 onwards by people held in immigration removal centres and in short-term holding facilities	FOI response	Jul 2026	PDF
Annual Report 2025 to 2026	Annual report	Jul 2026	PDF
To provide information on prisons in the United Kingdom with forty or more self-inflicted deaths in the last ten years, alongside their total	FOI response	Jul 2026	PDF
The three English prisons with the highest number of self-inflicted deaths between 2016 to 2026 (excluding HMP Leeds), with annual breakdowns	FOI response	Jul 2026	PDF
The total number of prison deaths that occurred while the individual was located in a segregation unit per calendar from 2021 to 2025	FOI response	Jul 2026	PDF
The number of drug-related deaths in prisons in England and Wales from 2010 to 2025	FOI response	Jul 2026	PDF
A breakdown of the epilepsy deaths in Welsh prisons from the PPO’s Learning Lessons Bulletin on epilepsy deaths	FOI response	Jul 2026	PDF
The number of people held in prison, either serving a sentence or on remand, who have died by suicide between 2016 to 2026, broken down by each prison in Yorkshire	FOI response	Jul 2026	PDF
PPO response to JSC Inquiry into Children and Young Adults in the Secure Estate	Consultation response	Jun 2026	PDF
The number of upheld complaints made to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) about accommodation from 2024 to 2025.	FOI response	Apr 2026	PDF
Fatal Incident Investigations Learning Lessons Bulletin Issue 21: Segregation	Learning Lessons Bulletin	Mar 2026	PDF
Fatal Incident Investigations Learning Lessons Bulletin Issue 22: Self-inflicted deaths in reception prisons	Learning Lessons Bulletin	Mar 2026	PDF
HMP Elmley prisoner deaths by year from 2010 to 2025	FOI response	Feb 2026	PDF
Complaints to the PPO about inadequate access to sanitary products since 2020	FOI response	Feb 2026	PDF
The number of health-related deaths in prison	FOI response	Feb 2026	PDF
How many complaints did IPCI receive from prisoners during 2024?	FOI response	Feb 2026	PDF
How many complaints has the PPO received regarding lost property by HMP Peterborough	FOI response	Feb 2026	PDF
Fatal Incident Investigations Learning Lessons Bulletin Issue 20: Epilepsy	Learning Lessons Bulletin	Nov 2025	PDF
Annual Report 2024 to 2025	Annual report	Jul 2025	PDF
The number of deaths linked to drug taking in prisons in England and Wales between 2020 to 2024	FOI response	Jun 2025	PDF
How many prisoner deaths has the PPO been notified of each year, or started investigating, where there is a suspicion the death was drug-related?	FOI response	Jun 2025	PDF
The number of prisoners who died where no care plan was in place as found in PPO fatal incident investigations (1 February 2023 to 16 September 2023)	FOI response	Jun 2025	PDF
Provide a list of deaths by suicide in English prisons since 2022	FOI response	Jun 2025	PDF
The PPO response time for all cases in last three and current financial year	FOI response	Jun 2025	PDF
The number of self-inflicted deaths recorded in prisons from 2019 to 2024	FOI response	Jun 2025	PDF
The number of individuals in prisons, young offender institutions and approved premises in England and Wales and/or within 14 days of being released from prison were at the time of their deaths subject to an IPP	FOI response	Jun 2025	PDF
To confirm when the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman’s (PPO) Yarl’s Wood special investigation report was completed	FOI response	Jun 2025	PDF
To provide the total number of Prevention of Future Deaths (PFDs or Regulation 28 letters)	FOI response	Jun 2025	PDF
Policy into Practice: Handling of prisoners’ property	Policy into Practice	Mar 2025	PDF
Policy into Practice: Handling of property complaints	Policy into Practice	Mar 2025	PDF