Woman who thought she was poisoned with tapeworm eggs describes ‘rife’ self-harm in prison
When Bryony was held in prison, she says self-harm was “rife”.
The then 27-year-old – who had no criminal record – was arrested when she was having delusions she was being poisoned.
After her mother’s death from pancreatic cancer, Bryony (not her real name) started to develop mental health problems while she was a university student.
They culminated in a psychosis where she believed there was a tapeworm in her brain which was killing her. Bryony thought a local takeaway worker had poisoned her food with tapeworm eggs.
In the midst of her psychosis in 2017, she threatened to kill the man if he didn’t admit to drugging her and put a match through the door of the takeaway.
Bryony was arrested for malicious communication and attempted arson and placed on remand in the mental-health wing of HMP Styal in Cheshire.
Warning: This story contains references to self-harm
Once in prison, Bryony said she was “so depressed” that she self-harmed for the first-time.
Bryony suffered mental health problems at the time she was held in prison
“I couldn’t see any other option,” she said.
“It was basically a way to cope with my surroundings.
“When you’re psychotic and depressed, being locked away in a cell is one of the worst things you can do to someone.”
Prisoner ‘tried to disembowel himself’
The extent to which mentally unwell prisoners are going to hurt themselves has been revealed in a new report seen exclusively by Sky News.
And there are concerns the problem is being worsened by people with mental health problems being held in prisons for too long before they are transferred to psychiatric hospitals.
The report, from chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor, says some mentally unwell prisoners are “so driven to harming themselves they have… removed teeth or maimed themselves to the point of exposing their own intestines, frequently causing life-changing injuries”.
Mr Taylor told Sky News: “We came across a case where a prisoner was, in effect, attempting to disembowel himself.”
Despite these shocking examples, some prisoners are waiting more than a year to be transferred to psychiatric hospitals.
The chief inspector of prisons’ report says inmates are suffering life-changing injuries from self-harm. File pic: PA
NHS guidance says the time between the identification of the need for hospital admission and the transfer to hospital should take no more than 28 days. For those with an urgent need, the transfer should take place faster.
Mr Taylor said this is not happening in 85% of cases – and the average wait time is almost three months.
Prison officers receive limited training in mental health and risk being injured in their interactions with unwell prisoners.
Therefore, many unwell prisoners who are dangerous or difficult to manage end up in solitary confinement for long periods, worsening their condition.
Latest figures show there was a 17% increase in the rate of self-harm incidents among prisoners in England and Wales in the year to June 2023 – with a record level for female inmates.
The Ministry of Justice said there were “notable differences in self-harm trends by gender” – as the rate in female prisons increased “considerably by 63% to a new peak (6,213 incidents per 1,000 prisoners)”, compared to a rise of 3% in male prisons (555 incidents per 1,000 prisoners).
‘She was suffering, really suffering’
Sarah Reed had schizophrenia and was sent to HMP Holloway in 2015.
She was sent to the prison for psychiatric reports to be obtained to confirm whether she was fit to stand trial for an alleged assault, which occurred while she was sectioned as a patient at a psychiatric hospital.
Sarah Reed died after ‘unacceptable delays in psychiatric assessment’
In prison, Sarah was taken off her antipsychotic medication and placed in segregation, where her health rapidly declined.
Sarah’s mother Marilyn Reed told Sky News: “She kept saying ‘mum, I need my meds, I can’t sleep’. She also had these two black eyes. She was suffering, really suffering.
“The last thing she said to me was ‘get me out of here’.”
On 11 January 2016, Sarah was found unresponsive in her cell.
An inquest jury concluded unacceptable delays in psychiatric assessment and failures in care contributed to her death.
A court heard how she spent her final days in a filthy cell, kept in virtual isolation with no visits or telephone calls to family.
The prison closed in July 2016.
Marilyn Reed spoke to Sky News about the death of her daughter Sarah
According to the chief inspector for prisons, there are two reasons for the long delays in transferring acutely mentally unwell prisoners to mental health facilities: bureaucracy and the lack of beds in psychiatric facilities.
Latest NHS figures show 90.5% of overnight beds reserved for mental illness are occupied.
Read more:
Ex-prisoner gives shocking account of life in a women’s jail
Huge cost of keeping inmates on indefinite sentences revealed
While there are long delays in transferring prisoners to hospital, Mr Taylor says he has concerns about the way prisons are used “as an alternative to a hospital bed”.
Prisons continue to be used “as a place of safety”, which means people can be remanded in custody during a mental health crisis solely because there are no available hospital places.
Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor
Mr Taylor described hearing about a woman who had deliberately jumped in front of traffic four times in the hope that it would end her life. The woman was arrested for a public order offence and remanded in prison.
The draft of the Mental Health Bill sought to remove the use of prison as a place of safety and to reform the Bail Act to prevent courts from remanding defendants for their own protection, solely for mental health reasons.
The bill also proposed a statutory time limit of 28 days to complete transfers from prisons to hospital.
However, the bill was not included in the King’s Speech in November 2023, meaning that there will be no legislative reform of the Mental Health Act.
Sky’s Alice Porter spoke to Bryony
Prison ‘made illness 10 times worse’
Bryony spent six months in prison before appearing in court where she was given a hospital order and transferred to a mental health facility.
There she was given a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and began treatment.
“I started to get better straight away,” she said.
“I don’t know if getting arrested and getting sent to prison was the right response.
“I think perhaps it might have been more beneficial if I’d have been taken straight to hospital instead of prison.
“I’ve never seen people so ill before. And prison just made that illness 10 times worse.”
A government spokesperson said: “Offenders are entitled to access mental health support in prison, where they are also helped to get off drugs and into rehabilitation.
“NHS England is investing in post-custody care to help prison leavers access their community-based health services – helping to reduce reoffending, cut crime and protect the public.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
TikTok and Instagram have been accused of targeting teenagers with suicide and self-harm content – at a higher rate than two years ago.
The Molly Rose Foundation – set up by Ian Russell after his 14-year-old daughter took her own life after viewing harmful content on social media – commissioned analysis of hundreds of posts on the platforms, using accounts of a 15-year-old girl based in the UK.
Politics Hub: Follow latest updates
The charity claimed videos recommended by algorithms on the For You pages continued to feature a “tsunami” of clips containing “suicide, self-harm and intense depression” to under-16s who have previously engaged with similar material.
One in 10 of the harmful posts had been liked at least a million times. The average number of likes was 226,000, the researchers said.
Mr Russell told Sky News the results were “horrifying” and showed online safety laws are not fit for purpose.
Molly Russell died in 2017. Pic: Molly Rose Foundation
‘This is happening on PM’s watch’
He said: “It is staggering that eight years after Molly’s death, incredibly harmful suicide, self-harm, and depression content like she saw is still pervasive across social media.
“Ofcom’s recent child safety codes do not match the sheer scale of harm being suggested to vulnerable users and ultimately do little to prevent more deaths like Molly’s.
“The situation has got worse rather than better, despite the actions of governments and regulators and people like me. The report shows that if you strayed into the rabbit hole of harmful suicide self-injury content, it’s almost inescapable.
“For over a year, this entirely preventable harm has been happening on the prime minister’s watch and where Ofcom have been timid it is time for him to be strong and bring forward strengthened, life-saving legislation without delay.”
Ian Russell says children are viewing ‘industrial levels’ of self-harm content
After Molly’s death in 2017, a coroner ruled she had been suffering from depression, and the material she had viewed online contributed to her death “in a more than minimal way”.
Researchers at Bright Data looked at 300 Instagram Reels and 242 TikToks to determine if they “promoted and glorified suicide and self-harm”, referenced ideation or methods, or “themes of intense hopelessness, misery, and despair”.
They were gathered between November 2024 and March 2025, before new children’s codes for tech companies under the Online Safety Act came into force in July.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
What are the new online rules?
The Molly Rose Foundation claimed Instagram “continues to algorithmically recommend appallingly high volumes of harmful material”.
The researchers said 97% of the videos recommended on Instagram Reels for the account of a teenage girl, who had previously looked at this content, were judged to be harmful.
Some 44% actively referenced suicide and self-harm, they said. They also claimed harmful content was sent in emails containing recommended content for users.
A spokesperson for Meta, which owns Instagram, said: “We disagree with the assertions of this report and the limited methodology behind it.
“Tens of millions of teens are now in Instagram Teen Accounts, which offer built-in protections that limit who can contact them, the content they see, and the time they spend on Instagram.
“We continue to use automated technology to remove content encouraging suicide and self-injury, with 99% proactively actioned before being reported to us. We developed Teen Accounts to help protect teens online and continue to work tirelessly to do just that.”
TikTok
TikTok was accused of recommending “an almost uninterrupted supply of harmful material”, with 96% of the videos judged to be harmful, the report said.
Over half (55%) of the For You posts were found to be suicide and self-harm related; a single search yielding posts promoting suicide behaviours, dangerous stunts and challenges, it was claimed.
The number of problematic hashtags had increased since 2023; with many shared on highly-followed accounts which compiled ‘playlists’ of harmful content, the report alleged.
A TikTok spokesperson said: “Teen accounts on TikTok have 50+ features and settings designed to help them safely express themselves, discover and learn, and parents can further customise 20+ content and privacy settings through Family Pairing.
“With over 99% of violative content proactively removed by TikTok, the findings don’t reflect the real experience of people on our platform which the report admits.”
According to TikTok, they not do not allow content showing or promoting suicide and self-harm, and say that banned hashtags lead users to support helplines.
Read more:
Backlash against new online safety rules
Musk’s X wants ‘significant’ changes to OSA
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Why do people want to repeal the Online Safety Act?
‘A brutal reality’
Both platforms allow young users to provide negative feedback on harmful content recommended to them. But the researchers found they can also provide positive feedback on this content and be sent it for the next 30 days.
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: “These figures show a brutal reality – for far too long, tech companies have stood by as the internet fed vile content to children, devastating young lives and even tearing some families to pieces.
“But companies can no longer pretend not to see. The Online Safety Act, which came into effect earlier this year, requires platforms to protect all users from illegal content and children from the most harmful content, like promoting or encouraging suicide and self-harm. 45 sites are already under investigation.”
An Ofcom spokesperson said: “Since this research was carried out, our new measures to protect children online have come into force.
“These will make a meaningful difference to children – helping to prevent exposure to the most harmful content, including suicide and self-harm material. And for the first time, services will be required by law to tame toxic algorithms.
“Tech firms that don’t comply with the protection measures set out in our codes can expect enforcement action.”
Peter Kyle has said opponents of the Online Safety Act are on the side of predators. Pic: PA
‘A snapshot of rock bottom’
A separate report out today from the Children’s Commissioner found the proportion of children who have seen pornography online has risen in the past two years – also driven by algorithms.
Rachel de Souza described the content young people are seeing as “violent, extreme and degrading”, and often illegal, and said her office’s findings must be seen as a “snapshot of what rock bottom looks like”.
More than half (58%) of respondents to the survey said that, as children, they had seen pornography involving strangulation, while 44% reported seeing a depiction of rape – specifically someone who was asleep.
The survey of 1,020 people aged between 16 and 21 found that they were on average aged 13 when they first saw pornography. More than a quarter (27%) said they were 11, and some reported being six or younger.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
There is one thing scarier than markets lurching around. And that’s markets lurching around without a very compelling explanation.
Just yesterday, the yield on the government’s 30-year bonds – the best measure out there of the UK government’s long-term cost of borrowing – closed at the highest level since 1998, not long after Oasis released the album Be Here Now. Indeed, the yields on pretty much all UK government debt has been creeping up in recent weeks, though not all are back to Britpop era levels.
Follow the latest in the Money blog
In some senses, this looks very odd indeed. After all, the Bank of England just cut interest rates. In normal circumstances, you would expect measures of borrowing costs to be falling across the board. But clearly these are not normal times.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘Is the Bank worried about recession risk?’
All of which raises the question: is this a UK-specific phenomenon? Are markets singling out Britain for particular concern, much as they did after Liz Truss’s notorious mini-budget? Actually, there are more questions on top of that one. For instance, is this all about Rachel Reeves’s recent woes, and her need to find another £20bn, give or take, to make her sums add up? Are investors fretting about the Bank of England’s inflation-fighting credibility, given its cutting rates even as prices rise?
The short answer, I’m afraid, is that no one really knows. But a glance at a few metrics can at least provide a bit of context.
The first thing to note is that while government borrowing costs in the UK are up, they have also been rising in other leading economies. The UK, it’s worth saying, is a bit of an outlier with higher yields than in fellow G7 nations. But that’s not exactly a new thing: it’s been the case since the mini-budget. But the UK is a particularly ugly duckling in a lake full of them.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Are taxes going to rise?
Indeed, look at other nations, and you see that Britain’s budgetary challenges are hardly unique. The US and France have ballooning budget deficits which are rising rapidly. Most European nations have pledged enormous increases in military spending to satisfy Donald Trump’s demands of NATO.
And over the Atlantic, the US administration has just committed to a sweeping set of generous fiscal measures, under its One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Even Elon Musk has voiced concerns about what this means for the deficit (which is set to continue rising ad infinitum, at least on paper).
Read more from Sky News:
Customers could join water boards
Pub closures ‘heartbreaking’ trend
BlackRock backs Gupta’s steel ambition
All of which brings us to the broader, possibly scarier, lesson. There are signs afoot that while G7 nations could depend for decades on other surplus countries – most notably China and other Asian countries – buying vast amounts of their debt in recent years, that might no longer be the case. In short, even as rich countries borrow like crazy, it’s becoming less clear who will lend them the money.
That’s an enormous conundrum, and not good news for anyone.
Drivers are being warned they could face long delays on major routes over the August bank holiday period, while train journeys will be impacted by rail engineering works.
Issuing the alert, the RAC urged motorists to set off as early as possible or “be prepared to spend longer in traffic”.
The RAC said some three million journeys for holidays or day trips are expected to be made on Friday, rising to 3.4 million on Saturday, 2.4 million on Sunday and 2.7 million on Monday, with an additional 6.1 million drivers planning a leisure trip at some point between Friday and Monday.
With over 17.6 million getaway trips by car expected, these are the roads with the worst-expected congestion, as well as the train lines that will be closed.
Which roads are likely to be the worst affected?
Transport analytics company Inrix has predicted the M5 between Bristol and Devon will have the most severe getaway traffic.
It said the stretch from junction 15 north of Bristol to junction 23 for Bridgwater is likely to see delays of more than 40 minutes on Friday and Saturday.
Delays exceeding half an hour are forecast on Friday on the M20 in Kent, as the route is taken by a large proportion of vehicles making Channel crossings via Dover or Folkestone.
Vehicles queue for the Port of Dover in May. File pic: PA
The warning covers journeys from junction seven near Maidstone to junction three (Addington Interchange), as well as from junction one at Swanley to junction five at Aylesford.
Major rail lines closed
Rail passengers are being warned that some major routes will be closed for engineering work, as Network Rail undertakes 261 projects across Britain.
There will be no long-distance services between London King’s Cross and Peterborough on Saturday, which will disrupt Anglo-Scottish journeys by LNER and Lumo on the East Coast Main Line.
File pic: Reuters
Avanti West Coast will operate a reduced and amended service to and from London Euston.
No services will operate between Birmingham New Street and Birmingham International between Saturday and Monday.
Affected Avanti West Coast and CrossCountry services will be diverted, increasing journey times.
London Northwestern services will run to and from Birmingham International only.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike