£18,000 of computer games for prisoners

Prisoners at a London jail will receive £18,000 worth of computer toys and games to help them pass the time.

Inmates at Wandsworth Prison are also in line for a £1,000 fish tank and a £5-ahead Christmas bonus.

The Prison Service said the electronic equipment would be loaned to wellbehaved prisoners. The cost will be met from canteen profits, not by taxpayers.

But the perks came under fire from law-and-order campaigners, who said the money should be given to crime victims.

One prison officer told The Sun: "We are being asked to economise by cutting down on photo-copying paper and toilet rolls. Yet at the same time, the prisoners are being treated to a load of free goodies."

The Prison Service said: "The prison also recently purchased a number of other items - including DVD players, PlayStations and Game Boys - which can be rented out to well-behaved prisoners. Use of such items as privileges is common across the prison system."