Boys Banged Up

Costa Del Hydebank

Hydebank Wood Prison in Northern Ireland houses around 100 young offenders and also suspects including those on remand. Most of the convicted inmates are aged between 18 to 21 and have committed offences ranging from theft to murder. After a number of heavily critical reports, the prison was given a complete overhaul and rebranded itself as a secure training college. Now, prisoners are now called 'students', staff are called by their first names and almost all inmates spend their day involved in 'purposeful' activity, training or education. Nevertheless, it is still a prison, so when classes end, for these students, it is back to sleep in their cells.