The last two former Medomsley staff have been jailed for 18 months and 30 months for their part of the abuse carried out at the detention centre for young boys.

Medomsley was a detention centre designed for young boys aged 17-21 who’s offences which wouldn’t routinely result in a custodial sentence, where they would usually spend around six to eight weeks.

The investigation into the abuse at Medomsley is thought to be the UK’s largest ever abuse probe, with over 1,800 separate complaints.

Victims of the abuse suffered daily beatings and violent regimes that left them terrified and feeling powerless to complain or fight back.

In this time, they experienced the horror of rape, violence and abuse, and in some cases, wounding with intent, including beating with a football boot because it had not been cleaned well enough.

The sentencing Judge, Howard Crowson told the court that the victims of Medomsley had been extremely brave in coming forward, saying: “Many had experienced brutality and violence at the hands of prison officers, but nobody wanted to hear about it. In those days, any complaint was likely to be regarded as further evidence that the trainee was anti-social, that he had not learned his lesson and was complaining about appropriate treatment. Many came from communities where they feared that to admit they had been cowed by threats and violence would leave them being viewed as weak in the eyes of the community in which they lived.”

This comes after four other wardens were sentenced on the 4th April after a series of trials at Teesside Crown Court for a total of 13 years and five months.