A local man currently in prison has spoken of the 'hellish conditions' he is facing at the high-security facility he is being held in.

Morgan Thackwell, a 23-year-old from Marlow, was remanded in custody in March after being charged with drug and weapon offences.

In a letter, he paints a shocking picture of life at HMP Bullingdon in Arncott, where he is being detained.

Overcrowding is a persistent problem in British prisons, and Mr Thackwell attests that he became aware of this situation almost immediately.

He says: "I was informed by staff when I arrived here that the prison holds a maximum of 1,000 people - a laughable, blatant lie. Every single-man cell has been turned a two-man cell."

Mr Thackwell claims that prisoners spend much of the day in small cells, around two metres from a toilet.

He claims these lavatories are constantly blocked, leading to an unpleasant and unhygienic living situation.

Mr Thackwell also claims most prisoners are only allowed out of their cells for a couple of hours each day.

The only exceptions are a special class of 'Enhanced' inmates, recognised for their good behaviour.

This group are allowed to spend around six out of 24 hours out on the wing.

Mr Thackwell alleges that drugs are rife at HMP Bullingdon, despite the authorities' constant 'Code Blue' crackdowns.

He says: "'Spice' and 'prison' are two words that go together these days.

"However, the full scale is sorely misunderstood. You only understand being here and a full witness.

"'Code Blue' is a spice seizure. Alarm bells ringing, medics rushing to the cell, people carried out on stretchers - this is constant.

"There have been 22 seizures from spice since I have been here, and that's just on my wing.

"I have been two-and-a-half weeks in this prison. Long-term prisoners say it's been this way for years.

"There's a dark humour in spice addicts dancing down the wing, incoherently singing with baggies filled with spice, sheets in their hands.

"However, this is someone's brother, uncle, father, husband, cousin ... and they need serious help, not ridicule."

Shockingly, Mr Thackwell estimates that up to half of his fellow inmates are spice users - and speed and marijuana can also be purchased behind bars.

Although illegal substances are readily available, Mr Thackwell claims that there are few official channels available for prisoners seeking mental health treatment.

He alleges: "There is one mental health worker, one GP, one dietitian, one dentist for the entire prison."

Mr Thackwell says that this lack of resources translates into a full-blown epidemic of violence and self-harm.

He relates that a neighbour recently cut off his own ear.

The quality of prison food is a frequent gripe among inmates, but Mr Thackwell testifies that the diet at HMP Bullingdon is exceptionally poor.

He said: "Handful of cereal in morning, one piece of meat, two slices of bread, bag of crisps for lunch and [a] small chicken leg with a tomato, [a] couple of handfuls of rice - if you're lucky, maybe a muffin or chocolate bar, as well."

The whistleblower does not mince his words: "Most people are starving."

Mr Thackwell is being held at HMP Bullingdon preliminary to further court hearings.

A spokesperson for the prison service said: "We do not tolerate drugs in our prisons, and HMP Bullingdon has substance misuse professionals on hand and an Incentivised Substance-Free Living Wing to support the recovery of former drug users.

"More widely, we have invested £100m into tough security measures across the prison estate, including X-ray body scanners and more specialist sniffer dogs to stop the flow of drugs entering jails."

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