PRISONS are facing a double whammy caused by a succession of changes in management staff and record sickness levels among officers.

The Prison Reform Trust said problems amounted to a "recipe for disaster" when combined with overcrowding.

It said three of the region's prisons - Full Sutton, Deerbolt and Holme House - had had a high turnover of prison governors which led to unstable and inconsistent leadership.

Maximum security Full Sutton, near York, which houses some of the most dangerous prisoners in the country, has had five or more governors or acting governors in the past five years.

Young Offenders' Institution Deerbolt, near Barnard Castle, and Category C prison Holme House, near Stockton, Teesside, have both had four.

All three prisons are struggling to cut down levels of sickness among prison staff. Last year 17.2 days were lost per prison officer according to Prison Service figures.

Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: "Ever-changing governors, severe staff shortages and record levels of prison overcrowding is more like a recipe for disaster than a way of ensuring public safety."

Both Holme House and Deerbolt changed their governors last year.

Prison officers at Deerbolt recorded a vote of no confidence in the management team and claimed morale was at "rock bottom".

Tim Brittain, a spokesman for Holme House, said: "The prison service is a demanding and challenging job.

"Until August last year we had three governors in just over ten years, which is not bad. As for sickness absence it remains a big problem right across the service. Our sickness figures for the past year have been worse than the national average but they have reduced significantly in the last quarter and we are now hoping to buck the trend."