SMILING at the camera, Claire Lloyd and Andrew Hall could be any happy couple – but the pair actually met inside Manchester’s notorious Strangeways prison.
In an exclusive investigation, we lift the lid on the prisoner-guard sex boom in Britain’s jails – revealing the desperate efforts lags make to seduce officers and the chilling reason behind the trend.
Prison officer Linda De Sousa Abreu arrives at court last year after being filmed romping with an inmate[/caption]
Megan Breen had sex with a jailbird on home release from HMP Prescoed[/caption]
Sarah Williams had flings with three men at HMP Altcourse, Liverpool[/caption]
Our research shows at least 45 female prison officers have been caught having illicit affairs with male prisoners since 2021 — an average of almost ten per year.
This compares with nine during the three-year period from 2017-20.
The attraction between Lloyd and Hall began on her first day at the Manchester jail in December 2019, where Hall was serving 14 years for armed robbery and Lloyd was one of his prison guards.
A friend of hers said: “Claire says it was like love at first sight.
“When she discovered he had a secret phone, instead of reporting it she saw an opportunity and gave him her number.
“They were sending each other hundreds of messages — some were flirty but others were literally planning the rest of their lives together.
“Claire knew what she was doing was wrong but she was having a tough time, the prison was always short-staffed and she’d had to deal with some horrible situations. Andy made her feel safe.”
During Lloyd’s trial last year, the couple’s texts were read out, with her calling him “fitty McVitty”, her “soulmate” and “big softy”.
Hall, 44, had been behind bars since 2015 after storming into a branch of RBS in Matlock, Derbys.
He threatened to shoot staff unless they handed over cash and fled with £4,000.
Now they are living together after Lloyd, 48, was released from her own stint behind bars at the end of last year, having pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office and being sentenced to eight months over the relationship.
But their romance is far from an isolated incident.
Morgan Farr Varney, 24, was locked up for ten months in May after CCTV revealed her slipping into a cupboard with a con while working at HMP Lindholme in South Yorkshire.
An investigation revealed a slew of love letters between Farr Varney and crack cocaine dealer Jordan Stones, 30.
The former prison officer admitted that she had “proper fallen in love” when interviewed by police.
And Linda De Sousa Abreu was 30 when she had sex with burglar Linton Weirich in his cell at HMP Wandsworth and performed a sex act on him while dressed in full uniform.
She was arrested after the X-rated clip — filmed by another inmate — was shared on social media.
De Sousa Abreu was found guilty of misconduct in a public office during a hearing at Isleworth Crown Court and served five months of a 15 month sentence.
Former prison governor Vanessa Frake says the number of female prison officers having relationships with male inmates has increased four-fold in recent years.
She said: “That’s down to the vetting procedures, too many inexperienced officers, shortages of staff, a high turnover of staff, low pay . . . it all leads to corruption in some form — be it inappropriate relationships or bringing in contraband.
They can spot a vulnerable officer in the blink of an eye. The officer might think it is true love but it won’t be.
Former prison governor Vanessa Frake
“Prisoners have time on their hands to spot new, inexperienced staff.
“They manipulate and coerce them.
“They are in their cells with no purposeful activity and watching the officers.
“They can spot a vulnerable officer in the blink of an eye.
“The officer might think it is true love but it won’t be.”
And Governor Vanessa said of De Sousa Abreu, who shared an OnlyFans account with her husband: “She should never have got into the job in the first place.
“You only had to Google her name to see her dodgy online accounts and that she had been on a swingers programme on TV.
“After her case, a lot of female staff were given an awfully hard time by prisoners, saying, ‘Come on then miss, you’re next’, or ‘Come on, bend over’.
“That completely destabilises a prison.
‘Throwing sheep into a wolf’s den’
“When you have two officers on a landing looking after 120 prisoners — often violent, rapists or murderers — and she is having an affair with a prisoner, how does that officer have your back?
“Some women like a bad boy.
“It starts off lightly, then flirty.
“Before you know it you are in a place you can’t get out of.
“That’s because these people haven’t been vetted, trained or supported properly.”
Vanessa insists that better training is key.
She added: “There needs to be tougher sentences for staff found to be corrupt, stiffer sentences for prisoners who corrupt and better vetting and better training.
“In the UK we have one of the shortest training periods in the world and that is not acceptable.
“You are throwing sheep into a wolf’s den.
“Someone with just ten weeks of training can find themselves straight on a landing, mixing with hardened criminals.
She had a fling with crack cocaine dealer Jordan Stones[/caption]
“In some places in Europe, officers are taught to a degree level.”
Levels of violence, self-harm and drugs are shockingly high in UK prisons, which often sees inexperienced staff struggle to cope.
Last year, 3,491 Band 3 to 5 prison officers were appointed — a decrease of 2,012 compared with the previous year.
Meanwhile, 3,078 prison officers left their jobs last year, an increase of 34 compared with the previous year.
A report by the Prison Reform Trust in December found that 84 per cent of prison workers said there were too few staff to ensure that prisoners could engage in purposeful activity.
I blame the system for putting me in that position. I am five years older now and still don’t think I’m mature enough.
Female prison officer
Another female prison officer, who was sentenced this year after starting a relationship with a prisoner, told The Sun on Sunday the problem is down to “young and impressionable women”.
She said: “I was 19 when I started.
“There are women with no life experience and big-time gangsters — impressive people, I guess, on the outside — and some of the women are naive and impressionable.
“I regret what I did.
“But I blame the system for putting me in that position.
“I am five years older now and still don’t think I’m mature enough.”
Just last month Megan Breen, 23, was spared jail after having sex with an inmate while he was on home release.
She met the man during night shifts at HMP Prescoed when she was 19.
In August, 26-year-old Aimee Duke was jailed after acting inappropriately with several inmates while working at HMP Five Wells, Northants.
And Leonie Wilkinson, 27, was said to be a “significant risk to prison security” because she failed to reveal she was in a relationship with a prisoner when she got the job.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: “While most prison staff are honest and hardworking, thanks to the work of our Counter-Corruption Unit we are catching more of the small minority who are not.
“Where officers fall below our high standards, we do not hesitate to take robust action.”
ARE THEY NAIVE OR IS IT INTENTIONAL?
By Dr Mohammed Qasim, criminologist
IT is incredibly worrying that so many female prison officers are entering relationships with prisoners.
The question is whether these women are naive and vulnerable and enticed into these relationships, or if they go into the profession with such intentions.
Once an officer crosses the line, she’s trapped.
A prisoner can hold it over her, blackmail her and push her into anything – smuggling drugs, sneaking in phones, even leaking confidential information.
That’s dangerous for her and the entire system.
The solution is better vetting of prison officers but that is easier said than done.
Prisons are already struggling to recruit and keep staff.
Working conditions are poor, morale is low, and experienced officers have left in droves.
Aimee Duke was repeatedly inappropriate with lags at HMP Five Wells[/caption]
Cheryl Hindle shared notes with an inmate at HMP Kirkham, Lancs[/caption]
Cherri-Ann Austin-Saddington had frequent sex with a rapist[/caption]
Leonie Wilkinson got a prison job despite secretly seeing an inmate[/caption]
Katie Evans had a relationship with an HMP Doncaster prisoner[/caption]
