Protesting inmates went on the rampage and smashed up part of Scotland’s newest jail during a tense 14-hour siege.
Nearly 40 prisoners barricaded themselves inside a communal hall at HMP Grampian at Peterhead.
The stand-off started at 8pm on Tuesday and continued through the night.
About 40 specialist prison staff, including negotiators, were drafted in from across Scotland.
Police and other emergency services were also called to the complex in South Road to provide back-up.
One source said “there was nothing left to smash” by the time the situation in the jail’s Ellon Wing had been brought under control, and a retired warder warned that the new prison had already become a “powderkeg”.
The outbreak was finally brought to an end at 10.30am yesterday when prison officers in body armour stormed a sealed-off area and subdued the ringleaders.
No one was injured.
All 39 inmates who were involved in the disturbance have now been transferred to other prisons.
The barricaded area, a cell block for male offenders, was left extensively damaged.
The section is used to house short-term and remand prisoners.
A police investigation has also been launched, although no arrests have been made.
The trouble flared just days after prison staff wearing protective gear were involved in a two-hour stand-off with inmates in the same area of the jail.
It was one of at least three violent incidents at the new £140million prison since it opened in early March.
Prison bosses said the incidents were simply the result of “teething” problems.
Last night, veteran Peterhead Prison officer Jackie Stuart, who was held hostage during the infamous 1987 riots, said he was not surprised by yesterday’s unrest, which had echoes of the old jail’s problems.
And another retired prison officer, who lives close by, described the jail as a powderkeg.
“They are mixing the wrong kind of people all together,” he said.
“Things like this were bound to happened.”
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said the instigators of yesterday’s disturbance would be identified and dealt with by the courts.
He added that he had “great faith” in the prison staff.
Throughout the stand-off, dozens of police, paramedics and firefighters remained on standby in the grounds of the prison, although they were not needed.
Yesterday morning, police visited nearby Burnhaven School to reassure pupils and staff there was nothing to worry about.
A spokesman for the Scottish Prison Service said last night: “There has been a considerable amount of damage caused to the area, although it’s too early to put a cost on this. It is wrong to call this a problem jail, but behaviour which has manifested here has been completely unacceptable.”
The cause of the trouble has yet to be established but it is understood it began when a small number of inmates started vandalising fixtures in the Ellon wing. A police spokesman confirmed that officers had remained at the jail last night and inquiries were ongoing. Police had been called to the prison at 8.50pm on Tuesday.
HMP Grampian was built to replace antiquated Peterhead Prison and Craiginches in Aberdeen. It held 388 inmates at the time of the trouble.
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