PRISON officers last night hit back at criticism of a jail, saying they were forced to "warehouse" inmates because of chronic underfunding.

Holme House Prison, in Stockton, was criticised in a report by the Prison Reform Trust for locking up prisoners for most of the day and not giving them enough to do.

The criticisms have angered the local branch of the Prison Officers' Association, which said Holme House was being starved of resources and was "bursting at the seams".

Branch secretary Terry Fullerton said the prison was at least 30 prison officers short of the number required.

He also said five suicides at the prison since January were evidence of its parlous state.

Mr Fullerton said: "It is out of order to criticise the prison when the prison service is not putting the resources in."

He added: "When prisoners are crammed in like they are and there is not enough for them to do, that inevitably creates tension and problems."

When Holme House was built in 1992 it was intended for 650 prisoners, but it is now holding 995, Mr Fullerton said.

Last month, about 170 inmates rioted after being denied access to the prison gym because of overcrowding.

A spokeswoman for the Prison Service said extra capacity had been added to Holme House and there had been four deaths in custody at the prison, the last one on June 27.

"At the end of the day, we have no control over the number of people the courts are sending to jail and a set budget with which we do what we can," she said.