Inside Britain’s ‘Paedo Alcatraz’ prison where Gary Glitter and 580 sex beasts play giant chess and watch koi carp
Prisoners at HMP The Verne on the Isle of Portland in Dorset also have access to 20-inch flatscreen TVs, tea and coffee making facilities and play five-a-side footie
THIS is Britain's "Paedo Alcatraz" prison home to Gary Glitter and 580 vile sex offenders - where lags can play giant chess and sit admiring a pond full of koi carp.
Inside the luxury prison home to hundreds of sex offenders
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Gary Glitter was jailed in 2015 for sexually abusing three young girls between 1975 and 1980Credit: Metropolitan Police
Prisoners are allowed to walk freely around their wing 24 hours a day and can make TV and coffee in their cells using their own facilities.
The large gardens boast an astroturf football pitch for five-a-side kickabouts, a giant chess set for inmates to play on and an ornamental pond filled with foot-long expensive koi carp.
There is also a farm area where lags can grow flowers and look after ducks as they serve their prison sentence.
The Isle of Portland - five interesting facts
The limestone-tied island may be home to the prison but is also a beauty spot that forms a central part of the Jurassic Coast.
Portland Harbour, which lies between Portland and Weymouth, is one if the largest man-made harbours in the world and played a crucial role during the First and Second World Wars. The harbour - once a Royal Navy base - is now a civilian port and was used for the 2012 London Olympics.
The island has featured in notable works of literature - including by Thomas Hardy who used it for the main setting of The Well Beloved and The Trumpet Major.
It is well-known for its rabbits but they have been linked with bad luck and use of the name is still a taboo subject - with the creatures instead referred to as "long-eared furry things" or just "bunnies". It is believed the superstition was started by quarry workers who blamed rock falls and landslides on their burrows.
The Isle of Portland is just four miles long by a mile and a half wide at its broadest point with a population of 12,400.
Prisoners at the cushy jail, on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, also have 20-inch flatscreen TVs and personal trainers who take them for fitness sessions in the prison gym.
It is understood there is also a sex offender treatment programme.
PAEDO PRISON
The Sun revealed in November how Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, had been moved to the luxury jail.
But the jail isn't all fun and games and Glitter was reportedly left in tears after being booed off stage during a karaoke session.
The Leader Of The Pack singer performed some of his biggest hits to fellow lags but they chanted "off, off, off" at him, reports.
HMP The Verne was turned into an immigration removal centre in 2013 and ran until 2017 when it was converted back to a prison.
'LIKE A HOLIDAY CAMP'
It is now run as a Category C Training Prison for Men Convicted Of Sexual Offences.
The Ministry of Justice spent millions on renovating the lino flooring and repainting the doors to the individual cells in pastel shades of green, red, purple and grey, to “brighten up” the wings.
Parts of the jail have been converted for people with disabilities including lifts, widened cells, and wet room washing facilities.
Prisoners must have a minimum of 12-months sentence remaining to be admitted.
A source told The Sun: “It’s like a holiday camp in there. To think some of these people have raped children, the public would be disgusted to see how they live.
“Because it’s all sex offenders together they feel safe and there is no trouble.
“They are given special privileges because they are older prisoners who are deemed to be well behaved.”
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Glitter is now at HMP The Verne which has just undergone a £3.3million renovationCredit: Marc Giddings
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The Verne is equipped with a giant chess setCredit: Marc Giddings
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The prison also has three ponds with one filled with expensive koi fish for prisoners to gaze atCredit: Marc Giddings
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The Verne was used as an immigration removal centre but now houses pervertsCredit: Marc Giddings
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One of the cells at the prison where inmates watch 20in flatscreen TVsCredit: HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
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A prison exercise yard is surrounded by high-fencing with barbed wire coiled around the topCredit: HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
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Prisoners can walk freely around their wings 24 hours a dayCredit: HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
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The sprawling coastal facility was used an immigration centre between 2014 and 2017 - but it has now reverted back to being a prisonCredit: Alamy
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HMS Verne is on the site of a Victorian military barracks on Portland Island, DorsetCredit: Alamy
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The only entrance to cushy HMP The Verne where paedos enjoy a soft prison regimeCredit: Alamy