CAMPAIGNERS opposing plans to build a huge prison in Runwell have been given fresh hope.

New Tory Justice Secretary Ken Clarke is under pressure to put a freeze on nationwide prison building plans, with the Prison Reform Trust also calling on the Government to halt the proposals.

The trust says new jails will only make the prison population even bigger, putting even more pressure on the taxpayer.

It wants the Government to look at other sentences as a way of keeping down the prison population.

Residents are now hoping ministers will agree to scrap plans for a 1,500 inmate-jail on the old Runwell Hospital site, just outside Wickford.

Juliet Lyon, the trust’s director, said: “The current growth in prison numbers is unsustainable.

“A moratorium on prison building would be a first step in reversing the disastrous legacy of the past two decades, which has seen the prison population almost double, while rates of reoffending have rocketed.

“A measured, evidence-based approach to justice would deliver better public safety and save money.”

Steve Fagioli, vice chairman of Runwell Parish Council and a member of the No Prison in Runwell lobby group, is optimistic.

He said: “We have one of the highest prison populations in Europe. The Government should definitely be looking at the reasons for that, rather than just adding to the numbers.

“I’m really hopeful this could stop the prison coming to Runwell.”

Prison overcrowding meant more than 80,000 prisoners were let out under an early release scheme, which ended in March.

Despite this, the prison population hit a new record – 85,076 – last month.

The Ministry of Justice’s application to build the prison in Runwell is due to be considered by Chelmsford Borough Council’s planning committee in July.