Leadership at a prison and youth jail have been praised for signs of progress during a period of "significant disruption" in which they were told the facility would temporarily close.

The Rochester site was to shut for a major redevelopment, but a rise in the national prison population caused that to be pushed back until next year.

Peter Clarke, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said the announcement and then delay of the closure "caused significant disruption and displacement of resources at the prison, and real uncertainty about its future".

In their latest report, inspectors commended the jail's leadership for guiding it through a difficult period, including coping with the loss of key staff after the closure announcement and some very poor accommodation, with one wing said to resemble a "derelict building".

Mr Clarke said: "Given the closure notice and ongoing uncertainty about the prison’s future, we were encouraged at this inspection to see progress in some key areas – to the great credit of the governor and his team.

"More needed to be done to embed and consolidate the progress made, but this had been achieved despite the uncertainties."

Inspectors found HMP Rochester to be calmer than before, and poor behaviour was being more proactively challenged.

Most men said they felt safe. Illegal drugs remain a big problem, and a major challenge, but the prison was better focused on these issues.

There have been no deaths in custody since the 2015 inspection.

The prison was assessed as 'generally respectful', with much improved staff-prisoner relationships and better management of equality and diversity work and complaints.

Much of the living accommodation was unacceptable, however, with constant demand for expensive emergency repairs, and C wing at HMP Rochester "resembled a derelict building. Many cells were cramped, grubby, poorly maintained and without decent furniture, and we again found many offensive displays on walls".

The report says the prison has made efforts to mitigate this, including allowing prisoners to paint their cells, but the living environment overall was not suitable and the accommodation needed to be closed.

Mr Clarke call for Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) to revisit the prison’s closure notice at the "earliest opportunity".

The prison also suffered from insufficient staff to run a full regime, a problem exacerbated by the loss of a significant number of operational and specialist staff after the initial closure notice.

Mr Clarke added: "The governor had implemented a restricted regime, which meant men at least had a period of reliable time out of cell each day, prioritising attendance at activities."

"Given the closure notice and ongoing uncertainty about the prison's future, we were encouraged to see progress in some key areas" - Peter Clarke

Despite this, time out of cell overall was insufficient, and many activities were not being run because of staffing shortages.

"We found far more men than at the last inspection locked up during the working day with nothing useful to do."

Reacting to the report, Michael Spurr, chief executive of HMPPS, said: “Rochester has faced a number of challenges over the past year and I’m pleased that the Inspectorate has noted the progress made by the governor and his team.

"A programme of refurbishment has been planned to address the most urgent accommodation issues, along with the recruitment of more staff to create a consistent regime for prisoners.

"We will continue to work towards addressing the broader issues raised in the report."

Inspectors visited the prison, which sites on a large and sprawling site dating back to 1874, last October and November.