Bed bugs in prison — not a movie plot, but figures disclosed by the UK Ministry of Justice itself. Nearly 3,800 prison places across England and Wales are out of use, with bed bugs among the causes; two prisons have confirmed infestations and sealed cells for treatment. At a time when jails are overcrowded and the government is releasing offenders early to ease pressure, even bed bugs are “helping” take up space.
The parliamentary figures: 3,800 places out of use, bed bugs only one cause
- Prisons minister Catherine McKinnell disclosed in a written parliamentary answer to shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy that nearly 3,800 prison places in England and Wales were out of use as of October 19.
- Note: 3,800 is the all-cause total, not all from bed bugs — the biggest share comes from delayed fire safety improvement works, with 2,255 cells waiting for advanced automatic alarms to be installed. The programme was due to finish in 2027 but has been pushed back to the 2030s.
- Other causes: 640 places at Dartmoor prison remain unavailable after carcinogenic radon gas was detected; 236 lost to damp, mould or leaks; 162 to damage by prisoners (including 120 at Highpoint after arson); 66 to electrical work; 20 to Legionella bacteria; 60 to asbestos.
- The figures were first reported by The Telegraph and compiled by BritBrief.
Two prisons hit: Wayland and Holme House
- HMP Wayland (near Thetford, Norfolk): two cells out of use because of bed bugs as of October 19. The jail had already suffered an outbreak in the summer, which the Prison Service described as a “limited outbreak of bedbugs, which affected four cells and was dealt with quickly and appropriately.”
- In July, a recently released prisoner told Inside Time, the newspaper for prisoners, that he had been “detained in a cell infested by bedbugs.”
- HMP Holme House (Stockton-on-Tees): specialist teams have been called in, with at least three cells reportedly affected.
Why can’t even a prison beat bed bugs?
- Bed bugs are masters of hiding: they squeeze into tiny cracks, reproduce fast, develop pesticide resistance, and can survive months without feeding — emptying a cell does not guarantee getting rid of them.
- Prisons combine dense bunking with rapid turnover, so one infested cell can quickly spread across a wing.
- The wider backdrop is an ageing prison estate: fire safety works delayed into the 2030s, radon, asbestos, mould — bed bugs are just one more straw on the camel’s back.
- The politics has flared too: Timothy accused Labour of “failing to use the prison cells they have,” while an MoJ source blamed 14 years of neglect inherited from the previous government.
Although this is a UK prison story, the takeaway is that bed bugs go anywhere — dormitories, hotels, cinemas and public transport are all fair game. To understand why bed bugs are getting harder to kill, read Super Bed Bug Insecticide Resistance; for the London surge context, see London Bed Bug Cases Surge: Some Areas Up 40%; and if you ever bring them home, the DIY Bed Bug Removal Guide has the full process.
Source
- BritBrief (via The Independent / The Telegraph, published 2026-10-25) — https://britbrief.co.uk/crime/prisons/bedbugs-force-prison-cells-to-close-as-3800-spaces-lost.html
(Written 2026-11-04; compiled from public UK media reports. Note: 3,800 is the all-cause total of prison places out of use; only two cells at HMP Wayland were closed because of bed bugs — do not confuse the two.)