STAFF shortages at a women's prison contributed to the death of an inmate known as an exceptionally active self-harmer, a court ruled yesterday.

Jayne Louise Buck, 28, was found dead in May last year, in the women's unit at Durham Prison, known as She Wing.

Eight women have died at the high security unit in the past two years.

The verdict by a jury inquest into her death, brought fresh calls from campaigners for the unit to be closed.

Frances Crook, director of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: "It is appalling that there are so many women dying at such a small unit - it is a significant proportion.

"The unit is very claustrophobic and they are kept in incredibly repressive conditions, which are not appropriate."

Ms Buck was serving a life sentence for an arson attack in 1999, when she had set fire to a bed at a hostel.

The jury at the inquest, held in Chester-le-Street Magistrates' Court yesterday, returned a verdict of death by misadventure.

Coroner Andrew Tweddle had asked the jury to answer five specific questions relating to whether they felt the Prison Service had properly carried out its duties towards her.

The jury found that prison staff had recognised the self-harm risk Ms Buck posed to herself. They also agreed that appropriate precautions had been taken to prevent her taking her own life.

When Mr Tweddle asked if they thought "a failure of the prison authorities contributed in a minor or major way to her death", the jury foreman answered "Yes".

Mr Tweddle asked for a reason and the foreman said: "Staff shortages, leading to a lack of supervision."

Ms Buck's sister, Joanne, said she had spoken to her in a ten-minute phone call, the day before her death.

She said she had sounded upbeat and was looking forward to going to work for her sister at her business in Beverley on her release.

Earlier, the court heard how Ms Buck was a regular self-harmer of "spectacular" regularity.

She suffered from a condition known as borderline personality disorder and had a history of self harm dating back to the age of 11.

Despite this, she had stopped attending intensive therapy sessions with prison psychologist Jennifer Tomlinson in the months leading up to her death.

Home Office pathologist Dr James Sunter had described how she had hundreds or possibly thousands of scars on her body, ranging from scratches to very deep cuts.

Probation officer Jean Hodgson said that, for the first three months she was in Durham, Ms Buck did not speak a single word.

On one occasion, she had covered herself from head to toe in cuts.

She hanged herself with a bedsheet from her cell door on May 1 last year.

The prison declined to comment last night.

No one from the Home Office was available for interview.