Prison officer's affair with lag unravelled after police scour burned love letters

Supervisors of prison officer Niamh Lloyd raised concerns about her behaviour whilst she was working in the prison, uncovering a letter which wrote of her sordid affair with an inmate.

Police have recently found remains of burnt letters which were evidence a prison officer's scandalous activities during her time working at a prison.

At the start of 2022, Niamh Lloyd's supervisors raised concerns over the 22 year old's behaviour around inmates at the prison. Lloyd was reported to have flirted with several prisoners, and acted inappropriately with inmate Lee Makin. Working at the Forest Bank jail in Salford, Lloyd admitted to being in a relationship with Makin "for the thrill". He was serving a sentence of six years for burglary.

After he was transferred to HMP Berwyn in Wrexham, the pair still continued their affair. Detectives also unearthed Makin's contact list to include an authorised phone number now proven to be the prison officer's.

During the course of their relationship, investigators discovered more than 40 hours of sexual conversation between the two. Lloyd had also made the mistake of sharing operational information to her inmate partner, and the pair often transferred money to one another in the hopes of reuniting after Makin's release.

A certain phone call featured Makin asking officer Lloyd why she had chosen to be in a relationship with him. She responded that it was the "thrill", adding that it was also because she did not "like doing what [she's] told". Eventually, Lloyd was arrested on November 22, 2022, at an address in Wigan. Officers were reported to have claimed an unregistered mobile phone - her method of communicating with the inmate.

HMP Berwyn prison officers then proceeded to search Makin's cell. On the same day as Lloyd's arrest, they found multiple pictures of Niamh Lloyd, all of which were taken as evidence. Detectives received information which told of a second address of Lloyd's in Bolton. At this location, the ex-officer was said to be burning letters from Makin. Turning up to the address, the detectives managed to get hold of what remained from the burned letters.

The NWROC revealed pictures of these remnants, which showed words such as "beautiful" - which was underlined - as well as fragments of sentences that read: "If I'm honest I've really missed you"; "got a pretty face"; and "you do look sexy today, the things I have going on through my head right now, naughty, naughty. You do that to me."

Though she was placed on police bail, Lloyd continued to make contact with Makin through third parties and false names. Detectives were able to uncover an invitation made to Lloyd's friends for a house party she was hosting, which planned to celebrate being charged and included a photograph of a woman in an orange jump suit sitting behind bars - making fun of her arrest.

Niamh Lloyd from Wigan was then jailed for 12 months after she pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office. In July, 2024, inmate Makin, aged 40, was released from prison, but was brought back due to breaching his license conditions. He also pleaded guilty to assisting and encouraging misconduct in a public office and is now completing 12 months imprisonment.

Brian Morley - a detective inspector from the Prison Investigation Unit - said: "This highlights the serious consequences of corruption within the prison system," adding that their team will "continue to work tirelessly with partner agencies and police forces across the region to root out such behaviour and ensure the integrity of our prisons".

Morley continued, sharing that their team wished to "reassure the honest, dedicated, and hardworking prison staff" that through the "partnership [of] working with prisons across the region, and [with the] HMPPS Counter Corruption Unit, [the Prison Investigation Unit] will continue to take action against people who choose to engage in corrupt activity". He concluded by "encourag[ing] anyone who has information about corruption in prisons to report it".