AN INQUEST jury is set to examine the death of a Southend man who died on Christmas Day after falling ill in Chelmsford Prison.

Craig Royce, 46, was a serving prisoner at the jail but was found in a serious condition after an incident on Christmas Eve.

The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, an independent ombudsman that investigates the complaints of prisoners and probationers, is set to examine Mr Royce’s death.

It will also be the subject of a jury inquest later this year.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice was asked to comment but had not replied at time of going to press.

An Essex Police spokesman said: “Police were notified at 9.20pm on December 24 about a man who was seriously ill following an incident at Chelmsford Prison.

“Sadly the man died the next day. His death was not deemed to be suspicious and a file was prepared for HM Coroner.”

A week-long inquest will be held starting on August 21.

The announcement comes just days after an inquest jury found “serious failings” in both mental health care and the prison system led to the death of another prisoner at the jail in January 2016.

Dean Saunders, 25, from Basildon, was found electrocuted in his cell.

A jury concluded the father-of-one killed himself while “the balance of his mind was disturbed, and the cause of death was contributed by neglect”, at Chelmsford Coroner’s Court on Friday.

The jury said there was an absence of clinical leadership in the healthcare wing and confusion regarding the head of healthcare’s qualifications by members of staff.

Mr Saunders was arrested after stabbing his father and brother, before attempting to turn a knife on himself. He was most likely suffering from paranoid psychosis.

It is not known why Mr Royce was in prison, but he had previously been sectioned under the mental health act.

A spokesman for the charity Inquest, which supports the families of people who die in custody, said the charity was aware of Mr Royce’s death and had been in contact with his family.

He said it was too early to make a comment.