VIOLENT scenes of fighting, bullying and smashing up cells in a North-East prison are in danger of escalating out of control, says a report.

A grim picture of life inside Castington Young Offenders' Institution, in Northumberland, is depicted in research by the Howard League for Penal Reform.

The charity found that prison officers at Castington had almost no specialist training to deal with volatile youngsters - even though they were desperate to learn.

The report said some of the units were too large, containing up to 60 teenagers - 15 to 17-year-olds - leaving staff frustrated they could not give them enough attention.

The prison came out worst for bullying and violence. On one night, 13 cells were smashed in a destructive spree.

The report comes days after figures published by the Prison Reform Trust branded Castington - which takes youngsters from across the North-East and North Yorkshire - the most violent prison in the country.

It said there were 222 assaults on inmates from April 2000 to March 31 this year.

The report for the Howard League states that at Castington "the prison is still struggling to control an increase in violence and bullying. The prevalence of intimidation and violence threatens to undermine all the positive developments that are under way".

It says that in "unsafe" prisons, inmates are likely to emerge with more deeply-entrenched anti-social behaviour and a reinforced belief that violence resolves disputes.

Staff at Castington, which is near Morpeth, have suggested the increase in violence, disorder and damage is due to the loss of power to add days on to a sentence.

But the report says that the power would probably just "keep a lid on this potential cauldron".

The charity spoke to prison officers, governors and inmates at Castington and Lancaster Farms Young Offenders' Institution.

It has called for a debate on the high levels of violence in juvenile units.

But Martin Narey, Prison Service director general, said the report did not recognise the magnitude of improvements which had been made.

He said: "The Howard League's fundamental opposition to the use of prison custody for this age group clouds their perspective to the transformation which is recognised by other critics."