A prison guard says felt safer watching England in the clink than in her local pub, as she reveals what the World Cup is really like behind bars.
Melissa Burgoyne-Cox witnessed two global tournaments during her time on the wing at one of the UK’s largest prisons.
The-34-year-old would rather watch a match in HMP Oakwood than any beer garden this summer – because inmates are less rowdy than drunken Brits.
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Melissa, who appeared on Channel 4’s Banged Up series, claims the atmosphere of a sports event in the prison beats that of any pub.
“I felt safer with 80 prisoners than I did in my local pub,” Melissa, from Staffordshire, told Need To Know.
“Out of all the places I have managed to watch the World Cup, HMP has got to be my favourite.
“You can’t replace the atmosphere.
“It’s a lot more controlled, no chances of it kicking off or any inmates getting drunk and rowdy.
“Hooch is the only real booze they can make themselves but to brew enough to get a whole wing wasted would be impossible.
“The smell alone would alert the guards and it would be confiscated immediately.
“All football shirts are banned inside too, which stops the divide.
“For example, Saturday’s match against Norway is at 10pm.
“All the prisoners will be in their cells watching the games.
“If there are any verbals from inmates celebrating too loudly who are keeping others awake, they are usually over it by the morning.
“They can’t get at each other so that time locked inside the cell gives them a chance to calm down – it rarely continues in the morning.”
She says most arguments on the inside stem from the lack of respect instead of footballing rivalry.
With England’s last match kicking off at 2am, plenty of prisoners would be waking up five hours later to start work.
She said: “If the cell next door had been up all night celebrating loudly and partying, which kept their neighbour up – there could be issues.
“By half 7 in the morning, inmates will have workshops and jobs to attend to.
“It may cause hostility due to the lack of respect for structures and regimes of their fellow inmates.”
According to Melissa, most prisoners who aren’t in segregation will be cheering on their country at the World Cup.
With TVs in almost every cell and some enhanced areas featuring 42-inch screens in common rooms, there are plenty of chances for inmates to catch the games.
Especially as they have access to channels such as BBC and ITV, which are showing all of the matches this tournament.
She said: “There is an aerial hanging out of almost every cell window.
“In the area I worked in, inmates would have 28-inch TVs in their cells which would usually hold up to two people.
“Some enhanced areas would feature a 42-inch screen where prisoners would gather to watch the games.
“If the games are in the social time then up to 100 could congregate around one screen to watch the games.”
Just like the outside world, betting on sports is huge in prisons with inmates making use of luxury items from the canteen as their stakes.
According to Melissa, lags would each buy an item to create a hamper and whoever won the bet would win it.
The prize would include anything from biscuits to tea bags to chocolate bars.
She added: “A lot of prisoners would also place bets on the outside world.
“They would make a phone call to a loved one and request them to place a bet on their behalf.
“If it wins they just have to hope that the money will be saved for them.”
Melissa left her role at HMP Oakwood after seven years.
She has since moved into the world of content creation where she lifts the lid on what really happens behind towering prison walls.
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