A JURY yesterday returned a damning indictment of the Prison Service, which it said let down a vulnerable inmate who took his own life in a high-security segregation unit.

Following a five-week inquest - one of the longest into a death in custody - the jury found a series of systematic failures had contributed to the death of Paul Day.

The 31-year-old, from Essex, who had been serving an eight-year sentence for robbery and an assault on a fellow prisoner, and was on self-harm watch.

He was found hanged in his cell at HMP Frankland, Durham City, in October 2002.

The hearing at Chester-le-Street Magistrates' Court, in County Durham, heard that Day was told he was being sent from Wandsworth Prison to a witness protection unit at Frankland, even though no such unit exists.

The jury ruled he had been misled.

The foreman said: "We believe the effect on Paul was that he felt abandoned, frustrated, depressed, helpless and defeated. And he also lost trust in the system and of his carers."

The jury found that while staff had not verbally abused Day, as had been claimed, he had suffered verbal abuse at the hands of fellow inmates, which staff had not done enough to stamp out. The jury decided this bullying had contributed to his death.

The foreman said: "It gradually took its toll on his mind and, being a sociable character, his main contact was the constant abuse from his fellow inmates."

The jury, whose findings were unanimous, ruled that the self-harm watch was not properly managed.

They recommended the use of cameras and the introduction of in-cell bells on segregation units in the future. They found, too, that staff had not followed their own procedures in dealing with the dirty protest that Day carried out in response to his situation.

Solicitor Fiona Burrill, for the family, said after the verdict: "The prison system badly let Paul down - from the managers all the way down to ordinary prison officers.

"There was a catalogue of errors and mismanagement, he was subjected to constant verbal abuse for 51 days at Frankland, and the jury has found that this took a toll on his mind."

Day's parents, Andy and Pauline, said they would now campaign for vulnerable prisoners not to be held in segregation units.

Frankland governor Phil Copple, who sent his condolences to Mr Day's family, said a number of internal investigations had highlighted "procedural shortcomings", which have been addressed.

He said: "At Frankland, we will continue to work hard to ensure that we protect the public and offer the best possible care for the men who are placed in our custody."