wheres theres a will theres a way A JAIL has removed alcoholic hand gel meant to combat swine flu after inmates got DRUNK on it.
Dispensers containing the liquid cleanser were installed to protect lags against contamination.
But instead of rubbing it into their hands, they started making illicit booze when they realised it contained alcohol. The distilled gel is believed to have been mixed with fruit and water.
Prison staff voiced their concerns at suddenly having to deal with a number of tipsy convicts.
The final straw came when one inmate became aggressive after downing the "hooch" and started a drunken fight with another.
The governor of the category C Verne Prison in Dorset has now ordered the removal of all the dispensers from the jail.
A prison source said: "The cleansers were to combat swine flu but as soon as they were put out the prisoners started taking the stuff. There was a fight after one of the prisoners got violent.
"The canisters have now all been removed from the wings but I couldn't quite believe it when they were put out in the first place."
Andy Fear, of the Prison Officer's Association, said: "Inmates have been incorrectly using the dispensers, for want of a better phrase."
A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: "A prisoner at Her Majesty's Prison The Verne showed signs of intoxication, the cause of which will be investigated. Antibacterial gel pumps have been removed."
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