A NUMBER of men have been convicted of prison mutiny following a large-scale riot at HMP Hewell.

11 of the defendants pleaded guilty to the offences, while two others were convicted following a trial.

The jury heard how on July 27 2017, a large group of prisoners at HMP Hewell disobeyed instructions to return to their cells for lock-up.

Prisoners were encouraged by one of the defendants, Grant Samed, 32, to attack prison officers with balls from a pool table.

They then proceeded to smash fire alarms, attack cell doors with metal poles and damage a number of CCTV cameras.

The incident lasted for around seven hours before a specialist team intervened and regained control.

The total cost of the damage to the prison amounted to £53,000.

Georgina Davies, from the CPS, said: “This was a shocking incident where the violent actions of the offenders forced the officers to leave an area of the prison for several hours.

“While some of the offenders pleaded guilty, the strength of the CPS case secured guilty verdicts for the remainder.

“The costs incurred by the extent of the damage, together with the impact on the prison staff and other prisoners, should not be underestimated.”

The defendants will be sentenced at a later date.