Prisoners ‘brawl with hand-made weapons’ as guards use tear gas – but they insist it isn’t a riot 

An incident that saw inmates setting fire to their beds, arming themselves with makeshift weapons and hurling faeces at guards is not being called a prison riot.

Guards were forced to don riot gear, put the prison in lockdown and deploy tear gas to restrain the inmates.

Details have been revealed of the chaotic events that took place at the South Coast Correctional Centre in Nowra, New South Wales on January 3.

Police have neglected to call the incident a riot – despite the fact that guards were forced to put the prison in lockdown and deploy tear gas to restrain the inmates (stock image)

The male-only facility is one of the state’s biggest jails, Nine News reports, with some 600 minimum, medium and maximum security inmates currently being detained there.

A letter from the prison’s governor to custodial management states that chaos began to unfold after a maximum-security inmate set fire to his cell at about 9:30am, prompting staff to use tear gas and remove him from the area.

The unrest quickly spread to adjacent yards, as more than 100 neighbouring inmates became defiant and took up arms with weapons made from bin lids, broom handles and other hard rubbish.

Documents state that staff seized control by securing the rest of the jail, shortly before another inmate started a fire in his shared cell.

The incident saw more than 100 inmates at the facility becoming defiant and taking up makeshift weapons, prompting guards to don riot gear and forcible exert control (stock image)

Cladding themselves in riot gear, guards continued to use tear gas in an attempt to quell the uproar, which had spilled over into multiple yards.

Inmates were observed ‘attempting to barricade the door access’ and ‘remained defiant, armed with weapons… some wearing wet garments around their faces in an attempt to resist the effects of the [gas]’. 

Prison staff eventually managed to exert control over the inmates and get them back to their cells, reclaiming the centre.

They proceeded to sweep all sections of the prison to remove flexicuffs from inmates who had been restrained.

Tear gas was deployed throughout the day in an attempt to quell the chaos, with some inmates ‘wearing wet garments around their faces in an attempt to resist the effects of the [gas]’ (stock image)

A later incident saw an inmate become unruly during meal and medication time, while another became violent and ‘had thrown urine and faeces at staff’.

Again guards deployed tear gas and restrained the disorderly inmates. 

Corrective Services NSW have insisted that the incident was ‘not a riot’, with a spokesperson further stating that there were no serious injuries, apart from smoke inhalation, and no damage to the facility.

They refused to release CCTV footage of the incident for fear that it might put prison staff at risk and reveal information that could help inmates escape.