Sweet-toothed prisoners are 'fuming' after their sugar ration was cute from eight teaspoons a day to just two - leaving inmates 'going without' their morning cuppa.
Prisoners at maximum security HMP Full Sutton, near York, which holds some of the UK's most dangerous prisoners, have been forced to start 'going without' their morning cup of tea and porridge.
A report out into the jail from inspectors from the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) last week revealed how prison chiefs previously handed over 1kg of sugar-per-inmate each month.
With a teaspoon of sugar being 4g, that meant inmates had enough for 250 teaspoons of sugar every month, which works out at around eight teaspoons-per-day to put in their cups of tea and coffee or sprinkle on their porridge.
However, prison bosses have decided to crack down on the amount of sugar inmates consume - rather than dishing out 1kg of sugar each month, they are handed 1kg of sugar every three months.
The new health regime means inmates are reduced to having 330g of sugar per month, or around 11g-a-day - which works out at just over two teaspoons-a-day.
This means inmates are losing out on 8kg of sugar over the year - that's a massive 2,000 teaspoons of sugar - which has been met with complaints from inmates.
Prisoners in the past year have made 190 complaints, compared to 161 the previous year, with many moaning about food and their limited sugar intake and time allowed out of their cells.
Part of the reason of the health kick is the report stated plans to set up healthy living groups had to be put on hold during Covid, but that the reduction in the amount of sugar had been implemented to 'encourage a healthier lifestyle'.
In the last two years, obesity rates in jails across the UK have increased as inmates ordered in from the canteen to supplement their diet as Covid meant they were locked up for most of the day.
The reported stated: "Healthy living groups, which were planned to address such things as diet, weight gain and exercise, could not become established as planned during the year.
"In an attempt to encourage a healthier lifestyle, prisoners' monthly 1kg allowance of sugar was reduced to quarterly."
The board will monitor the progress of the plans in 2022.
A prison source said: "Offenders take their tea and coffee very, very seriously.
"It's a comfort which they rely on, and for those who have a sweet tooth this will be devastating news."
However, there are concerns the sugar slash could see inmates turn to bullying in order to gain extra sugar as the prison source said there was 'no doubt' some lags would resort to violence.
Among the inmates at the 600-capacity jail include murderer Jeremy Bamber and serial killer Steven Grieveson, known as the Sunderland Strangler.
It is also home to killer John Cannan, the only suspect in the disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh, and a string of terrorists, including fertiliser bomb plotter Omar Khyam.
Prison bosses declined to comment.
