prison guard
The inmate managed to climb onto the roof of HMP Rochester on Monday morning Getty

An inmate at a prison in Kent has embarrassed guards by managing to climb onto the jail's roof to stage a protest for prisoners he said are frustrated at being "stuck in the system".

The inmate at HMP Rochester was even able to arrange for a statement to be sent out to the outside world before climbing onto the prison roof on Monday morning (30 January). He gave his name as Ricky Aucott, 27, who was sentenced in 2012 to five and a half years in prison for robbery and assault. He was released in 2015 but sent back to jail for breach of license conditions.

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The Prison Service said the incident "was resolved quickly" and resulted in no injuries to staff or prisoners.

A statement understood to have been written by the inmate, and passed to IBTimes UK, said: "This is just for me and the lads who are stuck in the system, where it's a one-sided game – where it's their game and no-one else's.

"So I'm off on the roof with a few banners and that and I'm going to get my point across."

He also accused the prison parole board of having "f***** me up", adding that "the staff are lying about my record" – a comment thought to be a reference to a recent parole hearing.

Questions will be asked of how the inmate, who was detained and placed into segregation, was able to get on to the roof in the first place.

HMP Rochester, a medium-sized category C training prison holding about 740 adult and young adult prisoners, has been criticised in the past for a breakdown in security.

The latest inspection, in 2015, uncovered levels of violence so high dozens of prisoners were shutting themselves in their cells through fear of being attacked.

Drug use and levels of self-harm were also said to be rampant, while inmates also suffered filthy conditions in cells and lacked access to basic items.

A Prison Service spokesperson said of Monday's incident: "A prisoner at HMP Rochester gained access to a building roof for a short period of time on Monday 30 January. The incident was resolved quickly and there were no injuries to staff or prisoners ."