A record 550 new inmates were “locked out” of prison last night as a surge in inmate numbers forced jails to declare that they had run out of space to take any more.

More than 400 prisoners were held in cells at police stations around England and Wales and a further 120 were in cells at courts.

A sixth court centre was ordered into operation as staff in Prison Service headquarters discovered late yesterday afternoon that they were running out of spaces both in jails and under emergency measures that allow prisoners to be held overnight in cells at police stations.

Cells at a court in Cardiff were ordered to be opened overnight, and inmates were also kept in other centres. These included Ashton-under-Lyne, Mansfield, Bristol, Inner London Crown Court and West London Magistrates’ Court.

Some prisoners are being held in court cells for two nights at a time rather than only overnight.

A source at the Ministry of Justice, which inherited from the Home Office the overcrowding emergency engulfing the prison system, said: “It is very, very tight.”

Last night’s surge in numbers took the Prison Service to the brink of a situation in which ministers could be forced to order the early release of nonviolent offenders or to extend early release on curfew.

The record number in police cells and court cells came after a surge in those sent to prison on Friday, when there were 80,778 people in the 141 jails in England and Wales, including 416 in emergency police and court accommodation.

The overcrowding situation is now so grave that, as well as being held in court cells, some offenders are arriving as late as 10pm at jail gates after Prison Service bosses struggle to identify a spare bed.

Some are being held for up to five hours at the courts while attempts are made to find cells for them, and others are being kept in vehicles bringing them from courts for as long as four hours.

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