TWO of the North-East's biggest jails have been identified as having the worst suicide records in the country.

Durham Prison and Holme House, near Stockton, came first and second respectively in a league table published by The Howard League for Penal Reform.

Victorian-built Durham recorded six suicides last year, including three in October.

These included father-of-two Jason Mackin, 28, and remand prisoner Terence Gaskell, who was found hanged in his cell.

Holme House, where prison officers warned of a powder-keg atmosphere following a serious disturbance in August in which inmates ran amok, recorded five suicides.

The Howard League said that, in total, 94 people killed themselves in prisons in England and Wales last year, up 29 per cent on the previous year and the highest annual figure recorded.

Last night, Mike Newell, governor at Durham Prison, said suicide prevention continued to be a priority.

He said: "There is no simple answer to this and all we can do is to continue to work at it.

"We receive some of the most vulnerable people in society, but all the time we are working to improve risk assessments and to try to provide a decent and safe prison."

Prison officers said the figures were more evidence of the effect of overcrowding.

Joe Simpson, branch chairman of the Prison Officers' Association at Holme House, said the prison was at near-bursting point and, in some cases, had been forced to house new arrivals in segregation areas, or even the hospital wing.

He said: "Holme House always had a very good record on suicide prevention, but we have seen this boom in the prison population, which has made things very difficult.

"Pressure has been put on the prison service to make spaces available and it is common to have two prisoners sharing a cell meant for one."

Other jails in the region to record suicides were Frankland Prison in Durham (one), Full Sutton, near York (two), and Northallerton (two)