The family of a "loving" 19 year old lad, who is reported to have taken his own life at a troubled Welsh prison, have blasted the "appalling" experience he had while incarcerated. Michael "Mikey" Horton, a Newport local, is counted among nine inmates that have tragically passed away suddenly over the past three months at HMP Parc in Bridgend, reports WalesOnline. On Monday morning, Mikey's family joined others protesting outside of Parc, demanding G4S - the private security giant entrusted with operating the prison - have its £400million contract revoked.
READ MORE: Barmouth incident: Two Coastguard helicopters, ambulance and RNLI in major emergency response READ MORE: Anger as beauty spot Llanberis lagoons car park becomes 'free campsite' for scores of campervans Bereaved families led cries of "G4S out" and paraded along the perimeter of the jail holding signs with messages like "stop the drugs" and "HMP Corrupt to the Core". This comes after WalesOnline exposed allegations of drug trafficking, violence, corruption, severe staff shortages, and inadequate mental health support as highlighted by former employees and prisoners. G4S said the safety of staff and prisoners was its priority and that it has "a zero-tolerance policy towards drugs".
Its spokeswoman said all mental health support is based on an assessment and operates in the same way as it would in the community. Frances Jones, 60, described her nephew Mikey, who died on May 7, as "a very loving boy". She said: "He wa.