INCIDENTS of misbehaviour among inmates at Erlestoke Prison has quadrupled, according to a report by the prison's Independent Monitoring Board.

The board said the number of reportable incidents has gone up from seven to 28.

Reportable incidents range from assaults on fellow prisoners or on staff, finding drugs on prisoners or prisoners refusing to eat their food. The incidents are reported to Prison Service headquarters.

In its annual report, published this week, the board says: "Judging by the number of reportable incidents it does seem that the type of prisoner coming to Erlestoke is getting more difficult to manage."

The prison increased its capacity by 80 last year to 426, to cope with the growth in the prison population and the board says: "There has been greater need for segregation and more reportable incidents.

"The board anticipates that these problems in prisoner management are likely to continue. They are a direct result of the greater number of people now held within the prison system."

The board's report covers the period from September 2002 to October 31 2003. Clive Broom, who took over as Erlestoke's governor at the end of October last year, said the increase in reportable incidents did not unduly concern him.

He said: "We have become a lot tighter in reporting incidents. We report a lot more now and we are monitoring them.

"As with every other prison in the country the prison population is increasing and space is at a premium. We are getting prisoners more early on in their sentence and more short term prisoners and they can be more difficult to manage.

"When they come to us early into their sentence they may not have accepted their sentence or have started addressing their offending behaviour.

"The rise in reportable incidents doesn't mean that the prison is becoming less ordered. It's still ordered and calm and there are still good relationships between the staff and the prisoners."

The board also said in its annual report that the state of the showers in Alfred wing are a disgrace.

Mr Broom accepted that the showers in that wing could become dirty very quickly but he said as well as cleaning them daily the showers were deep cleaned every week.

The board also paid tribute to the staff in the prison kitchen for their efforts in catering for increased number of prisoners while working in an old building.