SHAME: Paul Hewitt, left, and Paul Albertson
CORRUPT prison officers pocketed almost £168,000 between them after stealing thousands of DVDs, games consoles and electrical goods due to be sorted by inmates at Forest Bank jail.
At Manchester Crown Court Paul Hewitt, from Radcliffe, and his colleague Paul Albertson, from The Wirral, were each given 15-month prison sentences for what Judge Anthony Cross QC described as “a gross breach of trust”.
The court heard how company, LTV had a contract with the prison for inmates to repackage and return items from retailers to their suppliers.
But when bags of products were delivered to the prison for sorting there was no record of their contents, giving several corrupt officers the opportunity to help themselves to items before they were sent to the prison workshops.