A PRISONER found hanging in his cell at HM The Mount had been drinking illegal alcohol, the prison Governor has confirmed.

Davy Green, 35, formally of Barnet, was found hanged by a ligature made of shoe laces in his cell on the Narey Unit at the Bovingdon prison on October 7 last year.

At the inquest into his death on Tuesday a jury returned a verdict of suicide.

Results from a blood sample revealed that Green had 167 milligrams of alcohol in his system – equivalent to being double the drink drive limit.

Following the inquest The Mount Governor, Damian Evans, said: “The Prison Probation Ombudsman’s report into Davy Green’s tragic death at HMP The Mount in October 2007 did indeed reveal that there was alcohol in Davy’s system which was more than twice the drink drive level.

“The inquest concluded that Davy had decided to take his own life. Neither the inquest or the report concluded that alcohol played a significant part in Davy’s death.

“Prisoners sometimes attempt to make alcoholic liquid in contravention of Prison Service rules and regulations.

“Staff at HMP the Mount, as at other prisons, search prisoners’ areas regularly and, when hooch is found, this is dealt with through internal disciplinary procedures.

“Although hooch is occasionally found it is not a significant problem at HMP The Mount.”

Green had served six years of his life sentence for wounding with intent and had been in custody at various prisons but had been moved to the Mount in 2005 for further rehabilitation programmes.

Senior investigator for the prison and ombudsman office Steven Mackenzie said that a fellow inmate had noticed a change of mood in Green following the death of his father in February 2007.

Mr Mackenzie said: “He had become depressed, agitated and withdrawn.”

The inquest heard how he had a history of self-harm and had in one instance cut his wrists with a razor blade to release frustration and anger after being accused of misusing his medication.

Following this incident he was put on an increased level of watch and was reviewed regularly.

Safety custody officer Christine Blackman, who had carried out an assessment on Green after he self-harmed, said that Davy had become quite anxious and upset and had difficulties on the Dixon wing as it was noisy and loud.

She said: “He regretted doing it and it was out of anger and frustration. He had no intentions of committing suicide.”

Mrs Blackman added: “We knew he was feeling rather down so we suggested a relaxation course.”

The course was designed to help him with coping strategies, she said.

She said a further knock back for Green was when he was refused parole and had to wait 18 months before he could be assessed again.

When he moved to the Narey unit, which is much smaller and quieter than other wards, he was involved in organising its furniture and was able to choose his own cell.

The inquest heard he had settled down, had no thoughts of self-harm or suicide attempts and was coping.

Mrs Blackman said: “We got on really well. We were both quite short so we used to laugh and joke about that.

“We had a good professional relationship.”

About ten days before his death, he was seen laughing and joking and was saying how wonderful his new cell was compared to his previous one.

On the evening before his death, at about 8.30pm, night patrol officer Habib Niazi carried out cell checks and saw Green sitting on the floor of his cell watching television.

Mr Niazi called out to him and he responded by moving his head.

The following morning at about 5.30am when Mr Niazi carried out his morning checks he could not see Green in his bed so started banging on the door and called out for him but there was no answer.

He then alerted the control room who advised him to try again but still there was no response.

Dave Spencer, the senior officer on duty that morning, was called and officers opened the cell.

A note written by Green was later found on a chair beside his bed. A post mortem carried out by Dr Kenneth Shorrock on October 9, 2007, confirmed the cause of death was hanging.

A jury of ten people spent just over an hour deciding the verdict at the inquest at Hatfield Coroner’s Court.

Hertfordshire assistant deputy coroner Graham Danbury told Mr Green’s family: “Thank you for coming.

“Thank you for the dignity you have shown through the proceedings.”

Mr Danbury offered his sympathies for the family’s loss.