A prison dogged by rioting in recent days had “all the ingredients” for disorder because of a lack of staff, according to a recently released report.

Specially-trained riot officers have been called to HMP The Mount in Bovingdon for the second day running after armed inmates reportedly stormed Nash Wing.

READ MORE: More trouble at The Mount as 'armed' prisoners storm wing

SEE ALSO: Riot officers called to 'serious disturbance' at The Mount prison

Construction of Nash Wing, which contains enough accommodation for 250 prisoners, was completed in 2015.

However the Independent Monitoring Board report of the prison – released just yesterday (Monday) – highlighted serious concerns over a lack of staff, particularly in Nash Wing.

It revealed how, at the end of February, the workforce at the prison was a fifth short of a full complement.  

“The Mount was never fully staffed to cope with the opening of Nash Wing and since then uncompetitive salaries have seen officers leave and not be fully replaced in terms of numbers, let alone experience,” the report stated.

“Back in the summer of 2016, all the ingredients were in place for The Mount to suffer disorder such as has been experienced in other prisons – staff shortages, readily available drugs, mounting violence.

“Drugs are readily available at The Mount. The drug problem was most acute in November when a number of prisoners suffered serious short-term health problems, with 70 emergency call-outs in the month, mainly for drug-related problems.”

Maintenance contractor Carillion was deemed to be providing an unsatisfactory service at the prison, with the report adding: “In the past year, The Mount has suffered, inter alia, long-running failures to repair kitchen equipment, delays in repairing damaged cells, cold showers, loss of control in the stores, and expensive quotes for additional work not covered in the base contract.”

However despite these issues, The Mount was deemed to have ended the year “as a safe prison where prisoners had a good chance of rehabilitation”.

Opened in 1987 as a young offenders institution, it was re-rolled as a Category C adult male training prison two years later.