Cons stock up on fizzy drinks and sweets during a shopping trip.
The lags spent two hours browsing the aisles at a Co-op, B&M Bargains and Aldi on day release.
They were dropped off by minibus for the jaunt in Doncaster town centre, ahead of a shift at a warehouse 16 miles away in Barnsley, South Yorks.
The trip comes as Justice Secretary Dominic Raab stokes up fresh pledges to get tough on crime.
One onlooker told us: “The prisoners should be working but where’s the punishment if they spend hours hanging around shops?
“They seemed to be in good spirits. You wouldn’t have guessed they were in trouble.”
Another who has seen the prison groups several times added: “They’re not just getting a bite to eat, they’re stopping off at three or four locations. It looks like a jolly.”
The lags are from nearby category D HMP Hatfield, home to 378 and which held Moors killer Ian Brady as a juvenile delinquent.
