TWO men took their own lives at Winchester Prison last year, according to a jail reform group.

Data compiled by the Howard League for Penal Reform revealed there were three deaths at Winchester in 2014, although one was by natural causes.

Nationally 82 prisoners committed suicide in 2014, the highest level in seven years.

Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League, blamed the toll on the cut in prison staff at a time when inmate populations are rising.

She said: “No one should be so desperate whilst they are in the care of the state that they take their own life.

“It is evident that people are dying as a direct result of the cuts to the number of staff, particularly more experienced staff, in every prison.

“The government has chosen to allow the prison population to increase whilst it cuts staff, and that has led to an increase in people dying by suicide.

“The numbers hide the true extent of misery inside prisons and for families. It is particularly tragic that teenagers and other young people have died by their own hand in our prisons and we should all be ashamed that this happened.

“Hard-pressed prison staff have to save lives by cutting people down almost every day and without this the death toll would be even higher."

The highest number of suicides at a jail was four.