A PRISON facing an escalating drug problem has become "a powder keg waiting to explode", insiders claimed last night, as it emerged more than one in six prison officers are now off sick.

The number of officers at Holme House Prison, Stockton, on sick leave has almost doubled in just two weeks from 16 to 30, out of the 176 serving at the jail, most of them in connection with the effects of inhaling psychoactive substance Spice.

The Northern Echo: A 5.6kg stash of Spice has been found at Holme House Prison

Thirty prison officers are off sick at Holme House Prison, many of which have inhaled the psychoactive drug Spice

Tensions among prisoners are rising and fears of rioting growing as prison insiders say due to staff shortages inmates are being locked up for most of the day and losing their privileges.

And last week the prison, which serves the communities of Durham, Teesside and North Yorkshire, was in lockdown as a thorough drugs search was carried out.

Last month, The Northern Echo revealed a £200,000 haul of Spice was discovered in Weetabix, porridge and coffee packets in inmates' cells.

An investigation is now underway into what is believed to be a sophisticated manufacturing and smuggling operation, as the Spice was sealed into the packets.

Last night, the partner of a Holme House prison officer warned: "It is only a matter of time before Holme House blows, as more and more prisoners are being locked up due to staff shortages.

"Some of these prisoners don't touch drugs and are keen gym enthusiasts or actually spend their days at work doing jobs around the prison.

"If they begin to lose their privileges and association time, due to lockdowns and staff shortages, then they start on the druggies, and all hell breaks loose.

"Meanwhile, some officers are in very dark places, with heads in hands rocking to and fro, sitting up all night just staring into darkness, with the only thought failure.

"And the Ministry of Justice is making matters worse by paying off experienced officers and recruiting 18-year-olds.

"By breaking this story The Northern Echo has made people at the top sit up and listen and I am sure there will be many questions on figures that don't quite add up as well as the disarray that is happening up and down the country in all prisons."

Terry Fullerton, the North-East chairman of the Prison Officers Association, said: "You can't lose 30 staff and carry on as normal.

"It puts a lot of pressure on because you can't deliver the regime that the prisoners are expecting and that causes tensions inside the prison."

He said prison officers inhaling Spice fumes had been admitted to hospital because they thought they were having heart attacks, and others were suffering from the psychotic effect of it, being severely emotionally affected.

"Their families have seen them in that sort of state so it doesn't just have an impact on them, it impacts their families too," he added.

"Without a shadow of a doubt we welcome the fact that the prison was searched. But this has been going on for a long time, it should have been searched before.

"It could have been done earlier and it would have prevented some of the staff who are now off sick going off sick."

He said last month's £200,000 Spice find was believed to be the work of a sophisticated smuggling operation.

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said more "illicit items" had been found during a planned, intelligence-led search at Holme House last Tuesday.

She added: "The safety and welfare of our staff is a top priority and anyone found with contraband will be subject to disciplinary action and police investigations.

“We are also taking unprecedented action to stop the supply and use of drugs, which includes a new drug testing programme as well as the introduction of a specialist team of prison and police officers to tackle the threat of drones bringing contraband in to our prisons.”

The MoJ said it was "incorrect" that all the sickness absences at the prison were due to Spice inhalation, but did not state how many staff were currently affected by the drug.