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Belmarsh Bang-Up: Inside Britain's Most Secure Prison

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Belmarsh Bang-Up

Inside Britain's Most Secure Prison

Who is Paddy Kane?At the age of 52 with a previously unblemished record Paddy Kane was sentenced to serve a sentence inside Belmarsh prison. From living a "normal" suburban life as a Husband, Father and Grandfather he went within hours to living inside a world of daily struggles dominated by hardened criminals.

Another bragging prison book?Forget what you have read by career criminals with the "sexed" up books this is a book written by somebody like you who took the wrong path and paid the price.

Warts and all laid bare!!This is what life is really like behind bars of Britain's most secure prison. the daily mind games played by the warders enjoying their little time of power and the subsequent games played by prisoners to make life a bit more durable. The ridiculousness of Britain's penal system is laid completely open along with the expense that is paid by the taxpayer ensuring prisoners leave prison in a worse off state than when they started which may at first appeal to some but only until they realise that these prisoners will be released into their neighbourhoods. The final part of the book sees Paddy released and challenging the the system leading to the lies and double standards used by people employed within the system being exposed showing them to be less than capable of running a dog show let alone a prison.

What people have saidReally insightful but lighthearted view of life inside Belmarsh - Ms Appleby

An Informative & Valuable Insight - Miss N. Reece

This is a brilliant book, I thought I would read just the first few chapters before I dropped off to sleep last night, but I had a very sleepless night as I just couldn't put the book down, there are some really funny parts, where you can't help bursting out laughing, but there are also the humane parts - Gayle

I could not put the book down , funny in bits and eye opening in others ,worth a read for the price - Stef

Good honest account and doesn't try to glorify anything. Tells it how it is and the reason why people re-offend is the system failing offenders. - Steuart

All previous formatting issues have been properly dealt with.

445 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 18, 2011

89 people are currently reading
16 people want to read

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Paddy Kane

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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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103 reviews1 follower
May 20, 2025
well worth a read

Found this book to be very insightful. Having a family member who has been a long term HMP officer, I’m aware of how they see themselves and the way they view prisoners. The book evidences how much work needs to be done to improve conditions for both sides especially the spiteful behaviour of officers. Punishment yes, nastiness no. Only complaint is the inclusion of numbers in the middle of sentences which was very odd.
17 reviews
December 5, 2024
Reasonable read if you can get past him clearly thinking he didn't deserve to be in prison!! Also the kindle version is full of mistakes which makes it a frustrating read as there are literally random numbers in the middle of sentences for no reason at all!! That aside an ok book, ok story, poorly written but a bit of an insight into prison life. Would I recommend.....probably not.
1 review
January 5, 2020
Great read

Great read as prisons are of great interest to me. I think this book is well written and gives a real insight into prison
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews

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