PRISON officers at Bullingdon are so stressed they cannot get through a shift without alcohol or drugs, a Government report has said.

Staff at the jail near Bicester are “at breaking point” because of increasing workloads, it said.

It comes from an internal report into staff quality of life by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS).

According to the report, staff said “morale in the prison had never been lower”.

It said: “Participants said that staffing issues meant that they frequently had to work overtime... simply to keep the regime running.

“They added they were all at breaking point in terms of the amount of work they could do.

“Participants said alcohol and drug use was an increasing issue amongst staff members at Bullingdon, with some being unable to complete a full shift without self-medicating when they were outside the prison on their lunch break.”

This was the first time a staff quality of life survey had been carried out at the 1,114-inmate prison.

Nearly a third of Bullingdon’s 379 staff were asked questions about their work between September 29 and October 2.

The report said: that staff claimed they were put in unsafe situations because of staffing shortages.

“[Custodial managers] were frequently put in a position where they had to authorise actions for which there were technically too few staff. These participants said They felt extremely uncomfortable in having to do this. It said: Senior officers felt the service was failing at all levels, including providing a safe and constructive environment for prisoners, supporting staff members and keeping the public safe.”

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The report said that the controversial ‘benchmarking’ scheme is being blamed for the pressure.

NOMS said since April 2014, chief executive Michael Spurr has worked to reduce the budgets of public sector prisons to match selected private sector jails.

Prison Service spokesman Yasser Mehmood said: “We take feedback via staff surveys seriously and the prison governor Ian Young will work to improve the situation.

‪”We will always have enough staff to run safe and secure prisons. Where there are temporary local staffing issues we are taking action, including a widespread recruitment campaign and the creation of a reserve force of officers who can be used nationally when required.”

Howard League for Penal Reform chief Frances Crook said: “Prisons are in crisis. Long-term stress to staff is not being taken seriously by ministers.”

The capacity at the prison is 1,114.