Neighbours living near women's 'superjail' record inmates screaming

Neighbours living near £85m women’s ‘superjail’ record audio of inmates screaming abuse as they complain the ‘non-stop’ noise is ruining their lives – and can still hear ‘everything’ despite shutting their windows

• Prisoners at HMP & YOI Stirling are heard shouting ‘f*** off! f*** off!’ in a clip
• Residents at Forth Park and Vale Grove have complained of ‘non-stop’ noise

Fed-up locals living next to Britain’s new £85million ‘superjail’ have recorded the sound of female inmates screaming abuse at each other. 

Prisoners at HMP & YOI Stirling are heard shouting ‘f*** off! f*** off!’ in a clip taken by people living in nearby homes – who say that they can still ‘hear everything’ at the facility, even when they close their windows. 

Residents at Forth Park and Vale Grove have been complaining of ‘non-stop’ noise since construction earlier this year, saying that when they walk past they can hear the inmates shouting at each other.

The women’s prison, designed to replace the now-defunct HMP Cornton & Vale, is designed in a campus-style, with no bars on doors or windows.

But residents have reported being harassed by prisoners as they walk through the neighbourhood, hearing constant sounds of fights.

One resident has released audio footage of prisoners heard from their garden, featuring women inmates shrieking with one repeatedly saying ‘f*** off’. 

Forth Park and Vale Grove next to HMP Stirling, in Bridge of Allan. Residents have been complaining of ‘non-stop’ noise since construction earlier this year, saying that when they walk past they can hear the inmates shouting at each other

The resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: ‘We can’t use our gardens, the children can’t go out and play, we can’t socialise.

‘We live next to Britain’s new £85m women’s superjail – we’re afraid to sit in our own gardens because we can hear female lags shouting and threatening to kill each other’ 

‘We shut our windows and we can still hear everything – to the extent where we know four or five of the prisoners’ names.

‘We’ve got pensioners trying to sell their houses because they don’t have any other options.

‘The perimeter fence is ten metres away from our houses, and in another five metres, you’ve got the cells – it’s hardly surprising that we can hear every conversation.

‘They should have carried out sound tests to see how far that was going to have an impact on our houses.

‘There was absolutely nothing like that done.’

The anonymous contributor described a walk-through held at the prison with the governor to ease the residents’ minds but when complaints were raised, they were allegedly met with complete inaction.

‘The very first meeting that we went to, we had a walk around with the governor,’ said the resident.

‘When we went for our walkthrough, things kicked off and the whole place went into lockdown.

‘They were like crazed animals pressing their faces up against the window – it was like an asylum.

Forth Park and Vale Grove next to HMP Stirling, in Bridge of Allan. The women’s prison, designed to replace the now-defunct HMP Cornton & Vale, is designed in a campus-style, with no bars on doors or windows

One resident has released audio footage of prisoners heard from their garden, featuring women inmates shrieking with one repeatedly saying ‘f*** off’. Pictured: Vale Grove. 

‘I told the governor that this is what we’re hearing on a daily basis, seven days a week since the prisoners arrived here.

‘They just shrugged their shoulders – there was nothing they could say.

‘They told us the prisoners can’t see out the windows – only we can see in.

‘Last week, they moved prisoners back into an area where they had been moved out to calm things down – one of the neighbours heard them say they could see everything in our houses. They’re telling us a pack of lies.’

A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: ‘HMP & YOI Stirling has delivered a significant step change in the way in which we support women in our care, many of whom are vulnerable and have experience of trauma and adversity.

‘Our relationship with the surrounding community is crucial to this and we have met with neighbours to listen to their concerns about noise from the establishments.

‘We are looking at a number of infrastructure and operational measures, with an aim to reduce noise levels.’

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