FOUR prisoners killed themselves in Worcestershire's two prisons in 2014, new figures have revealed.

Two inmates at Long Lartin Prison near Evesham died of 'self-inflicted' injuries, according to data compiled by the Howard League for Penal Reform.

At HMP Hewell in Redditch, two took their own lives, with another three deaths from natural causes and two further deaths still being probed.

Nationwide, 82 prisoners killed themselves last year, as the suicide rate behind bars rose to its highest level for seven years.

They included 14 young adults, aged between 18 and 24, data compiled by the Howard League for Penal Reform reveal.

In total, 235 people died in prisons in England and Wales during 2014.

More than 120 prisoners died of natural causes, and a further 24 deaths are yet to be classified by authorities.

Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “No one should be so desperate whilst they are in the care of the state that they take their own life.

“The numbers hide the true extent of misery inside prisons and for families. It is particularly tragic that teenagers and other young people have died by their own hand in our prisons and we should all be ashamed that this happened.

“Hard-pressed prison staff have to save lives by cutting people down almost every day and without this the death toll would be even higher.

“It is evident that people are dying as a direct result of the cuts to the number of staff, particularly more experienced staff, in every prison.

“The government has chosen to allow the prison population to increase whilst it cuts staff, and that has led to an increase in people dying by suicide.”

The figures show that prisoners on remand were disproportionately likely to take their own lives in custody.

One in three prisoners who took their own lives was on remand, although remand prisoners account for only one-seventh of the prison population at any one time.