BLAKENHURST Prison claims shock test figures, that showed more than a quarter of inmates at the Worcestershire jail tested positive for drugs, are misleading.

In the annual figures released by the Prison Reform Trust, 28 per cent of inmates at the prison, near Bromsgrove, failed drugs tests. The national average is 11.6 per cent.

Only Lewes Prison in East Sussex fared worse, with 32 per cent of prisoners testing positive.

The main reason for the high figure, according to a spokesman for Blakenhurst, was that the prisoners brought to the privately-run site from local court still has illegal substances in their body.

"Prison's like Blakenhurst are local prisons, which means they constantly have a large proportion of inmates coming straight from court," he said.

When people were brought in they were given a rigorous drugs test and many tested positive for illegal substances.

"This means if a prison's catchment area is one of prevalent drugs culture, this can be reflected in the number of failed tests each jail records."

The spokesman confirmed that a drug, such as cannabis, could remain in the body for up to a month.