Sheppey's biggest jail has been labelled as "failing" in a scathing report following a surprise visit by prison inspectors.

They said prisoners at HMP Swaleside at Eastchurch felt "unsafe" as violence remained high and that rehabilitation was "poor".

Charlie Taylor, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, warned: "Levels of violence were high and were on an upward trajectory. The number of assaults against staff was higher than at similar prisons and many were serious.

"In our survey, more than a third of prisoners said that they felt unsafe."

The report said the level of self-harm had almost doubled since the previous inspection in December 2018 - nine months after current Governor Mark Icke took over the Category B prison which can hold 1,000 men - and had risen in the 12 months before the latest inspection which was carried out in October.

It said: "Several prisoners alleged they had been assaulted by staff and Muslim respondents, and those who identified as being from a racial minority, reported more negatively than their counterparts in relation to bullying or victimisation by staff."

Mr Taylor said: "These failings were perhaps most clearly seen in the prison’s approach to rehabilitation.

"Most prisoners were serving over 10 years, with a third serving life or another indeterminate sentence. Nearly all presented a serious risk of harm.

"The progress of high-risk men, serving long sentences, was at the heart of the prison’s mission yet for the second successive inspection we saw a lacklustre and poorly coordinated service that was failing to meet the needs of the public or prisoners."

He added: "It was no surprise to us that in our survey of prisoners, fewer than half thought their time at Swaleside would make them less likely to offend."

But he admitted there were pockets of good practice with the post of a Swaleside ambassador created to support new staff, a development manager to help recently promoted officers and secure video calls allowed for prisoners to talk to family over Christmas. The work and therapeutic sessions in the jail's farm and garden were also valued by prisoners, he said.

He added: "The governor was enthusiastic and committed and he articulated clearly, although largely informally, his values-based vision for the prison. The energy of the leadership team was carrying the prison some distance and despite significant operational risk, it was settled and relationships were benign."

But he said that, despite taking into account the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, too many disciplinary adjudications had been adjourned for long periods undermining efforts to address poor behaviour and that the number of incidents involving the use of force had "increased substantially".

He added: "We saw evidence of good de-escalation of incidents but some use of force was excessive and approved techniques were not always used in some of the closed-circuit television records we viewed. The prison did not have enough body-worn cameras to capture valuable evidence."

The report highlighted a "significant staffing shortfall" behind its findings.

It stated: "Only around three-quarters of prison officers were available and there was a severe shortage of workshop instructors, programme delivery facilitators, health care staff, probation officers, operational support grades and caterers.

"Leaders had been proactive in trying to address the high level of attrition and inexperience among prison officers by, for example, recruiting a Swaleside ambassador to support new recruits. But wider systemic issues relating to recruitment and retention needed to be addressed."

The Ministry of Justice has since launched a major recruitment campaign for the jail by trying to entice ex-service personnel to apply for vacancies.