Air ambulance lands at Doncaster prison following serious incident

The air ambulance has landed at a Doncaster prison following reports of a serious incident.

The aircraft was pictured touching down near to HMP Doncaster in Marshgate at around 6pm yesterday evening.

Residents said the Yorkshire Air Ambulance was seen over Hexthorpe before landing near to the Category B jail.

A spokesperson for the Yorkshire Ambulance Service said: “Ambulance resources responded to an incident at Doncaster Prison last night (27 July).

“No further details are available.”

The prison, opened in 1994 and with a capacity for more than 1,100 inmates, was built on the site of the former Doncaster Power Station and is dubbed “Doncatraz” due to the fact that it lies between branches of the River Don, River Don Navigation and River Cheswold and appears to be on an “island.”

Managed by Serco Prisons, the jail has been involved in a number of controversies during its operation, including the deaths of a number of inmates.

At one time, the jail had the worst suicide rate of any prison in England and Wales and suffered issues with overcrowding, with prisoners reportedly sleeping in toilets and conditions described as “squalid.”

We have contacted the Ministry of Justice for further details.