Investigation into Facebook messages urging violence at Durham prison

Former jailbirds at the maximum security HMP Low Newton in Durham, which houses some of Britain's most hardened female criminals, are said to be using the social media site to order attacks on prisoners.

Ex-cons have posted orders to current prisoners to "do in" new inmates - with the hit list including suspected killers who have been locked up on remand.

One member of the page even promises to pay an inmate with a postal order in exchange for maiming a prisoner.

And in another post one former inmate says: "Can you post a message to the lasses in jail, a wife should be coming in - I want the B**** done in.

"They will get paid whoever does it."

Northumbria Police are now investigating the page, which one former inmate claims has reunited her with several former prisoners.

"It has a hard reputation but some of the best days of my life were inside the prison," she said.

"I had a right laugh inside with a lot of the lasses, it's not a party inside but a lot of the girls made being there a lot easier.

"A lot of the lasses even started relationships inside."

On the page, members even reminisce about having mini "raves" inside the Category A prison, which a recent inspection found to be "one of the most complex" jails in the country.

Former hardened criminals even act as agony aunts to prospective prisoners, dishing out advice on how to survive inside its walls - offering a shopping list of goodies, such as ciggies and crisps, to help them win over the prison's near 300 inmates.

Prisoners are banned from updating their Facebook accounts while they are locked up, with the Ministry of Justice warning inmates they will be "stripped of privileges" if they are caught on social media.

A Freedom of Information request recently revealed that the number of prisoner accounts deleted doubled last year.

A spokesman for Northumbria Police said: "We are aware of these messages and enquiries into them are ongoing."