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General Information
| Name or Prison | HMP Wayland |
| Address: | Griston Thetford Norfolk IP25 6RL |
| Other contact details: | |
| Web Site: | |
| Email: | |
| Main switchboard: | 01953 804100 |
| At Risk hotline: | |
| Fax: | 01953 804220 |
| Visits booking number: | 01953 804152 |
| Visits booking email: | socialvisits.wayland@hmps.gsi.gov.uk |
| Visits booking wed address: | www.gov.uk/prison-visits |
| THT Coach service number: | 07757 330180 |
| Type of Prison: | Male Cat C |
HMP Wayland is run by HMPS as part of the East of England Region. It has a capacity of 915 and the #1 governor Ali Barker, who has been in charge since November 2021.
HMP Wayland, near Thetford in Norfolk, opened in 1985 on a site that had previously served as an RAF base and, briefly, a transit camp for Ugandan Asian refugees arriving in Britain. It is a Category C training and resettlement prison for adult men, with an operational capacity of around 915 spread across older brick buildings and newer purpose-built units, and expansion plans approved for 2025 aim to add several hundred more places over time.
The Independent Monitoring Board’s 2024–25 annual report recorded a worrying rise in the proportion of prisoners saying they felt unsafe, up from 14% to 27% in a year, with drugs believed by staff to be fuelling most assaults. The Board also raised concerns about forced cell-sharing in spaces designed for one person, poor acoustic design in the new care and separation unit, and difficulty accessing mental health appointments, with self-harm trending upward. There were some improvements too, including better education and library services and faster handling of prisoners’ property on arrival, though the Board warned that planned cuts to the education budget risked undoing recent progress.
Given these safety concerns, families in touch with someone at Wayland may find it worth asking directly about their wellbeing during visits — the contact details above are the best way to arrange this.