Grafition against the wall of a persistent cell, the words that greet incoming prisoners, could hardly be more intimidated: 'Welcome to Hell'.
And whoever registered the message was not talking about the accommodation, the staff or the regime at HMP Frankland – but their colleagues.
The category A prison in County Durham is known for the accommodation of some of the most dangerous and taunted prisoners of Great Britain.
Many of the 800 men who are locked up there are murderers, risky sex offenders or those convicted of terrorism-related violations.
Charles Bronson, the most notorious prisoner in the country, and Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, were held there.
Current prisoners include serial killer and rapist Levi Bellfield, who killed 13-year-old Milly Dowler, and Michael Adebolajo, who was convicted of the brutal murder of the British soldier Lee Rigby.
The most controversial recent arrival was Urfan Sharif, 43, who serves a lifelong prison for torture and killing his ten -year -old daughter, Sara.
He was moved to prison after he was cut with the whimsical lid of a tuna by two prisoners in a prison with a high security in London and is said to be afraid of a follow -up fall.
Former Metropolitan Police Officer Wayne Couzens and his victim Sarah Everard, whom he killed in 2021
But of all the risky prisoners in Frankland, one name distinguishes itself from the rest-wayne Couzens.
This week the fourth anniversary of the arrest of the 52-year-old for a crime, so shockingly led to protests and demonstrations throughout the country.
In 2021, Sarah Everard ran home from a friend in Clapham, Southwest London, when she was abducted by Couzens, a metropolitan police officer.
He claimed that she had violated Covid restrictions, fascinated her and drove her to the countryside near his house, where he raped and killed the 33-year-old and strangled her with his police band.
Couzens – who would eventually admit what he had done – was sentenced to rare prison, in which the judge told him that he had abused his position to kill.
And as a former policeman, Couzens will probably look over his shoulder every minute of the rest of his life.
“Of course they become number one goals because people in prison do not like police officers anyway, and if they are locked up with officers, they will be attacked,” says Ricky Killeen, a reformed prisoner who served in Frankland for five years for his involvement in a machete attack.
'If it is a prison with high security, the violence is probably extreme. They will either be cut, they will be stabbed in the neck, they will try to take their eyes out, they will throw hot oil over them or use a boiling hot boiler full of sugar. '
Incidents in Frankland have taken attacks on prisoners and guards with weapons formed from a broken DVD player and ceramic shards from a broken toilet pan.
On an occasion, the head of a prisoner was heavily burned after boiling water was mixed with melted butter thrown at him. The fat in the butter led the liquid to the skin of the victim and deepened the burns – a practice known as 'swilling'.
Soham murderer Ian Huntley in the meantime died almost after he was cut in the throat with a razor blade embedded in a plastic knife, leaving a seven-inch scar behind.
Couzens will undoubtedly have been aware of a shocking incident in July in Frankland, in which a police officer who visited the prison was put into the chest by a prisoner. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition and happily recovered.
To protect couzens against similar attacks, his interactions with other prisoners are heavily limited throughout the clock.
“To be a police officer in a cat, a prison would make you a target, but to be such a controversial prisoner, there is no chance that you can be on a normal wing,” a prison source told the Daily Mail.
“He will have a premium on his head. Couzens will serve his life imprisonment in segregation. He is a face that everyone knows – and his fame will not decrease over time. “He will be in a small, vulnerable prison wing, kept far from the most important population at all times, where lower association levels are.”
The murder of Sarah led to protests throughout the country, including this Wake on Clapham Common in Southwest London, not far from where it was abducted
The majority of vulnerable prisoners are sex offenders.
In 2022, indeed, a year after Couzens had been transferred to Frankland, it was reported that he had become friends with David Fuller – who was called the Morue Monster for contaminating the bodies of more than 100 dead women in a hospital where he worked.
A source told how the couple, both from Kent, was connected after he was locked up on the same wing.
“We call them the strange couple,” he said. “They know some of the same areas of the past. The idea that they exchange stories turns my stomach. '
But according to Mr. Killeen, who has his own YouTube channel behind the Bars TV, there is even no guarantee for safety with other vulnerable prisoners.
This is because, in addition to rapists and pedophiles, are prisoners who have sustained debts during their time who buy drugs from other prisoners and must be moved for their own safety.
“These are those who will attack these police officers or pedophiles,” says Mr. Killeen.
A parliamentary report in 2023 showed that some prisoners in prison had received premiums of a maximum of £ 10,000 to carry out attacks on other prisoners.
A contract was taken to finance his 'dependence on vapen'.
Last year an unannounced inspection discovered that although the establishment was assessed as safer than other prisons that kept similar prisoners, there had been 147 attacks in the past six months, which was a third higher than in the same period before the previous inspection.
To reduce the risk, Couzens brought food to his cell, where he spends up to 20 hours a day. Although he could visit the gym or take educational lessons with people on the same wing, the source says that they would take place earlier in his cell.
Just like others in Frankland, that cell is equipped with its own phone.
“Prisoners are allowed to keep in touch with approved friends and family,” explained the source. 'Friends and family time are limited to previously submitted times and you have to pay for the calls with credit. Some prisons only have speech calls, some have the video facility. It is not uniform. All calls are recorded and can last up to 30 minutes. A prisoner is allowed a free video call per month. '
It has been reported that Couzens has maintained contact with family members, including his mother.
The e -mail revealed how she had tried in 2022 to send him a book and some clothing to celebrate his 50th birthday.
Urfan Sharif, David Fuller and Levi Bellfield, all of whom were held in HMP Frankland
But the delivery was blocked by the authorities – so that the murderer hit a formal complaint and threatened to seek financial fees.
It is clear that Couzens was told that he was not chosen, but that the prevention of receiving the package was the standard policy and that no prisoner packages are allowed at home.
However, this did not calm down that Couzens, who be angry with a similar package – that contained clothing and a set of headphones – could reach him earlier in the same year of security. It turned out that this was allowed as a 'one -off' after he arrived in prison and still settled.
Couzens then complained to the prisons and probation, Ombudsman and moaned that the rules were not well explained to him, which means that he and his family did not know that he was not allowed to get gifts from home – and his mother was omitted from his own pocket.
A source said: 'It may seem incredible after his case has shocked the country – how he used his police status to focus, mislead, rape and rape and kill – that Wayne Couzens did this.
'But that is exactly what happened – only a year after getting his life period he was writing, writing letter letters about not getting a birthday gift. The entire episode was incredible. '
Cells also have a television and, in the case of couzens, an Xbox 360, which he was allowed to buy as a reward for good behavior in the context of the stimulation schedule of the prison service.
But a decision to forbid him to play violent video games did not go well.
“He was Cock-A-Hoop to get the console, but very disappointed that he could not order the violent 18-rated competitions,” a source told The Sun. “That means he can't be in his cell and play Call of Duty and Gears of War. He moaned about it and will have to satisfy himself with things such as the motorsport and fantasy games. But it is pretty sick that he wanted to play the shooter games, given that he was obsessed with weapons before killing Sarah. '
The lifelong obsession of Couzens with weapons was revealed when he was found guilty of the murder of marketing manager Sarah.
He shot a classmate in the testicles with an air rifle when he was 14 and later became a member of the territorial army before he became a police fire officer.
Although some people wonder why prisoners should get such 'benefits', accommodation in Frankland is far from luxurious.
Last year's inspection report showed that some mattresses were so thin that they would sink between the metal bed battens. To prevent this, a number of prisoners had removed the privacy screen of their toilet and used it instead as an improvised basis for their beds.
Others had found it more comfortable to simply move their mattress on their cell floor.
But one is certain.
Whatever Couzens' bedtime routine is, given his background and the threats with which he is confronted, it is unlikely that he will soon sleep easily.
