THE latest suicide at Redditch's Blakenhurst Prison has prompted a penal reform charity to call for action on overcrowding and staff shortages.

Spencer Smith, 30, who was on remand for the murder of his daughters, who were just three and six years old, and their mother, was found hanged in the medical wing of the prison last Tuesday.

In the last two and a half years, there have been nine suicides at the prison, with five last year.

A spokesman for The Howard League for Penal Reform said: "After Blakenhurst became a public sector prison, staff numbers were reduced resulting in less opportunity to build relationships or give support to prisoners.

"It also means prisoners have longer in their cells which is detrimental to their health, particularly the more vulnerable.

"So we need to reduce the prison population by giving more community-based sentences."

The spokesman added: "Many of Blakenhurst's inmates are in there for non-violent offences and are not best served by being sent to an already crowded prison."

The latest death follows the suicide in March of Steven Wilson, who hanged himself with his shoelaces five days after being convicted of murdering his two young sons.

A Prison Service spokesman said: "Just one death in custody is awful for family members, staff and inmates.

"Deaths in prison are not a common occurrence and every year in England and Wales, staff manage to resuscitate hundreds of prisoners who have tried to take their own lives.

"There are more suicides in prisons than outside of them because many inmates are very vulnerable or have drug-related problems.

"Overcrowding and the challenge of handling resources are also factors which play a part in the suicide rate and are key priorities for ministers and the prison service."