Drugs and phones among 2,151 forbidden items thrown into prisons in 2015
Thousands of banned items including drugs and mobile phones were thrown into prisons last year, figures have revealed.
A freedom of information request by the BBC to the Ministry of Justice found that there were 2,151 recorded instances of forbidden items being thrown over prison walls in 2015.
The figure has more than doubled in two years. In 2013, contraband items were thrown over 797 times, according to the request.
Drugs and mobile phones were sometimes concealed in juice cartons, tennis balls and shampoo bottles, the BBC said.
The request also showed that 730 knives or blades were discovered in prisons in England and Wales during the last six months of 2015.
Eleven firearms, of which two were real, were also found in prisons in 2015.
