The number of illegal drone incursions into prisons in England and Wales is soaring amid warnings it has “never been easier” to get drugs and banned items inside.

Data examined by this programme shows reported incidents involving drones have risen by more than 1,000% in the last five years.

The cargo they carry: drugs, phones and even allegedly weapons. The impact: violence, chaos and more crime – on a system meant to deliver rehabilitation.

A prison service source confirmed to us that in one recent incident a drone crashed and intelligence was received that weapons had got inside the jail. Lockdown cell searches discovered a spent shotgun cartridge and sketches of a gun. The Ministry of Justice say they have no record of this.

And after another drone sighting, we understand, priso

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