A Winchester Prison inmate staged a rooftop protest at the jail before he was talked down by staff.

For some five hours last night he refused to come down despite efforts to persuade him by prison officers.

“Specially-trained staff had to go up and confront him and there was nowhere else for him to go,” said a spokesman for the Ministry of Justice.

The incident provoked a storm of noise from other prisoners at the jail on Romsey Road.

One local resident of some ten years said: “It was pretty noisy, as noisy as the last time there was a riot.”

In a statement the Ministry of Justice said: “A prisoner at HMP Winchester climbed onto the roof of the healthcare wing at 4.30pm on Wednesday, May 11. Prison staff talked him down at 9.45pm and there were no injuries to either staff or the prisoner."

It was unclear why the prisoner staged the protest.