A Gloucester judge has criticised the system which sees prisoners taken to a prison in Worcestershire but then when the appear at his court they are then moved to 'horrific' Horfield prison in Bristol.

On many occasions, prisoners remanded by the magistrates in Cheltenham to attend hearings at Gloucester crown court refuse to leave their cells at Hewell Prison in Redditch, as they are 'fearful' of being transferred to HMP Bristol.

On Friday Judge Ian Lawrie QC, sitting on Friday, was told by a defence lawyer of yet another case where the hearing could not proceed because the defendant had refused to leave Hewell prison.

Judge Lawrie asked the lawyer: “Why is he not here?”

“The short answer is that, without taking instructions, he wants to stay at Hewell,” she replied.

The defence lawyer said: “The reality is that not every defendant that appears before this court is a career criminal, there is a genuine fear of Bristol. They are full of horror stories that have been relayed to them about Bristol by other prisoners.”

Replying the judge said: “Horfield is in a bracket all of it's own. I have been to Horfield. I was horrified. That is a prison in the 21st century. In a country that has money.