Seven Dials

David Berridge returns with more stories from his time as a prison officer at HMP Parkhurst, giving a raw, uncompromising look at the harsh reality of working in British prisons. From dealing with inmate violence and clearing out defiled prison cells to the unsavoury nature of prison language and life, this is an even more detailed look inside Britain’s most infamous prison.

Through it all, David retains his wry humour and offers a much-needed assessment of the state of UK prisons today, the job crisis and poor recruitment, the corruption and gangs running rife, and the mental health epidemic hitting prisoners, causing many to take their own lives.

Guiding us in episodic fashion through the various wings of Parkhurst prison, we witness the horrifying, disgusting and often hilarious life of a prison officer through David’s own eyes.

Assaults. Riots. Cell fires. Medical emergencies. Understaffed wings. Suicides. Hooch. Weapons. It’s all in a week’s work at HMP Parkhurst.

After 28 years working as a prison officer, with 22 years at HMP Parkhurst, once one of Britain’s most high security prisons, David Berridge has had to deal with it all: serial killers and gangsters, terrorists and sex offenders, psychopaths and addicts. Inside Parkhurst is his raw, uncompromising look at what really goes on behind the massive walls and menacing gates.

Thrown in at the deep end, David quickly had to work out how to deal with the most cunning and volatile of prisoners, and learn how to avoid their many scams. He has been assaulted and abused; he has tackled cell fires and attempted suicides, riots and dirty protests; he has helped to foil escaped plans, talked inmates down from rooftop protests, witnessed prisoners setting fire to themselves, and prevented prisoners from attempting to murder other prisoners. And now he takes us inside this secret world for the first time.

With this searingly honest account he guides us around the wings, the segregation unit, the hospital and the exercise yard, and gives vivid portraits of the drug taking, the hooch making, the constant and irrepressible violence, and the extraordinary lengths our prison officers go to everyday. Divided into three parts – the first from David’s early years on the wings, the second the middle of his career, and the third his disillusioned later years – David will take readers into the heart of life inside and shine a light on the escalating violence and the impact the government cuts are having on the wings.

Both horrifying and hilarious, David’s diaries are guaranteed to shock and entertain in equal measure.

This is a story of physical bravery, moral courage, and the power of redemption from the man who led the charge in stopping the terrorist attack at Fishmongers’ Hall in November 2019.

From cell fires to violent feuds and gang battles on prison wings, after being sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, what Steve witnessed at HMP Frankland made him change his life forever. After losing everything, he vowed to never use violence again.

In November 2019, Steve’s redemptive journey led him to a Learning Together event at Fishmongers’ Hall, hosted by his mentor, Jack Merritt, and attended by Saskia Jones. It was here, on his first day out of prison on day release, that Steve was forced to break his vow as he bravely confronted and fought armed-terrorist Usman Khan on London Bridge. Armed just with a narwhal tusk, Steve wrestled and held Khan to the ground while he waited for the police to arrive.

In October 2020 Steve was granted a royal prerogative of mercy in recognition of his actions at London Bridge. In August 2021 he was released from prison.