A PRISONER was found hanged in his cell yesterday at a North-East jail renowned for its efforts in cutting the number of suicides among inmates.

John Andrew Cliff, 36, of Bishop Auckland, County Durham, had been in Holme House prison, Stockton, Teesside, since November.

Mr Cliff, from St Wilfrid's Walk, South Church, was arrested with five other members of his family following a Saturday night disturbance at West Auckland Football Club and an incident in Central Avenue, St Helen Auckland, the following day.

He has since been convicted of using threatening behaviour by magistrates at Sedgefield and was waiting to go back to court to be sentenced.

A Home Office spokesman said last night that he had been dead for some time when he was found at 6.10am. No attempt was made at resuscitation.

Prison officers and a chaplain travelled to Bishop Auckland to break the news to Mr Cliff's family.

The Northern Echo reported yesterday on measures taken to reduce suicides and self harm at Holme House, where the Samaritans have trained special "listeners" to offer help to depressed fellow inmates.

Prison suicide and self-harm rates have risen dramatically over the past few years and inmates are six times as likely to take their own lives as people on the outside.

About 60 per cent of the suicides take place in local prisons such as Holme House, which sees 50 offenders in and out of its gates every day