POLICE say they can handle looking after prisoners who cannot be housed in Durham Jail.

Police station cells are being used because the prison has 716 inmates compared with its "certified normal accommodation" figure of 526.

The Prison Officers Association's general secretary, Brian Caton, visited the jail last week and warned of a serious risk of a major disturbance or riot.

The Home Office has described the inmate population at the jail as being at an all-time high.

Both the Durham and Northumbria police forces are having to house prisoners temporarily - usually just for one night - but maintain it is not causing major headaches.

A force spokesman said: "Over the last ten days we have had a couple of prisoners each day. It is a problem we could do without, but we have plans in place to deal with it so our day-to-day policing won't be affected."

A Northumbria spokeswoman said: "We are aware of the difficulties the Prison Service is experiencing with prison numbers at the moment.

"There are no difficulties for Northumbria Police and there are no concerns about the situation."