Several Kent prisons remain understaffed despite a massive recruitment drive by the Ministry of Justice.

Figures released by the Howard League for Penal Reform show a number of jails have fewer staff than they did in 2013, which the charity says is putting both prison officers and inmates at risk.

Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey has 182 officers, down from 210 in 2013, while open prison Standford Hill has 44, down from 60 over the same period. Swaleside on the island has just one more officer, at 211 over the period.

Maidstone has been reduced from 110 three years ago to 83 now, and Blantyre House from 20 to 12.

Cookham Wood in Rochester has dropped slightly, from 100 to 95 officers, with Dover seeing a fall from 120 officers to 82.

East Sutton Park in Maidstone has actually seen an increase in prison staff over the same period - from 10 to 16.

Meanwhile, Rochester prison has seen a fall from 160 to 130 staff.

That brings the total drop in Kent to 462, down from 1,060 in 2013.

The charity says this reflects a national problem, and almost every region has seen frontline officer numbers fall in the last year.

Nationally there were 14,689 frontline officers (full time equivalent) in England and Wales in June 2016, down from 15,110 a year earlier.

Meanwhile the prison population across England and Wales rose from 83,796 to 85,130.

Andrew Neilson, director of campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “Reducing resources while allowing the prison population to grow unchecked has created a toxic cocktail of violence, death and human misery.

"These figures show how reductions in staffing and problems in recruiting and retaining new staff are feeding the problems behind bars.

"The vast majority of those sent to prison will be released back to the community and so it matters to all of us what happens to people when they are sent to prison.

"Throwing someone into a raging torrent of violence, drugs and despair is not going to help that person steer away from crime.

"On the contrary, it will feed more crime and create yet more pressure on the failing prisons.

"The Ministry of Justice can look again at its recruitment policies but only wide-ranging reforms, which include a serious attempt at reducing prison numbers, will move us away from institutions that shame the nation."

Ministry of Justice statistics released last month show 321 people died in prison custody during the year to the end of June 2016 – an increase of 30% on the previous 12 months.

They included 105 people who are thought to have taken their own lives.

Reported incidents of self-harm in prisons have risen by 27% in a year.

There were 34,586 reported incidents in the 12 months to the end of March 2016 – one every 15 minutes.

The number of assaults on prison staff has increased by 40%.

There were 5,423 incidents during the 12 months to the end of March 2016 – at a rate of almost 15 per day.