FEMALE prisoners have been held for hours alongside male inmates and often within cramped custody vans, an inspection team has revealed.

One report found that four women had been in transit between court appearances and Corton Vale prison for nearly 14 hours under the escort of security firm G4S.

It was also found that pregnant prisoners have been held in Ross House, a block at Cornton Vale, with disturbed, vulnerable and potentially volatile women, which Prisons Chief Inspector David Strang also said must be changed “as a matter of urgency”.

The findings are part of a report on HMP Cornton Vale in the wake of the transfer of over 100 women to Her Majesty's Young Offenders Institute Polmont in August last year to allow facilities to be upgraded. Inspectors found the reduction in inmates has improved access to health services and toilet facilities, and work opportunities.

However they criticised the treatment of women held by G4S under prisoner transfer arrangements. It has emerged that some prisoners arrived just in time to be locked up for the night despite having appeared at court in the morning, because vans make multiple stops across the country to drop off male prisoners.

In one day, prison inspectors noted, four women had spent more than three hours in vans each, and four were under escort by G4S - who hold the prison transit contract - for more than 12 hours. Most would have spent no more than 20 minutes in front of a sheriff.

The report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland said the figures were a snapshot, but added: “Information provided by the staff is that long journey times involving numerous stops ... and late arrival are a regular occurrence.”

Prisons Chief Inspector David Strang said: “I don’t think it is humane treatment to transport women like this. They are not goods to be shifted around the country, they are human beings and should be properly treated.”

When the prisons inspectors took the issue up with the Scottish prison Service, they were told such delays were not a breach of G4S’s contract. “We would expect that any new contract for escorting prisoners contained specific requirements for the movement of women and other vulnerable individuals,” the report says.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Prisons Service welcomed the report’s finding that staff worked with and cared for those in custody well.

She added: “In the cases highlighted in the report, G4S met all the contract obligations.

"It is our intention to re-tender The Prisoner & Court Custody Escort Contract. The recommendations made by the Inspector will be considered in due course by the project team.”

Operations director for G4S court custody in Scotland, Willie Galloway, said: “We routinely handle the transportation of around 3,000 people each week throughout Scotland.

"The end to end destinations are determined by the courts and Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and we deliver our services to those instructions.

"It would be for the SPS to determine if there should be any variation to the contract in terms of separate vehicles based on gender.

"The safety of people in our care is of paramount importance to us.”