More than 1,600 inmates are being held in a jail in England and Wales for the first time in modern penal history, according to figures from the Ministry of Justice.

After months of holding the population of Wandsworth prison in south west London just below 1,500, the number on the wings has now reached 1,645.

A further 16 jails have a population of more than 1,000 as the prison population continues to rise despite government efforts to persuade the courts to make greater use of non-custodial punishment.

The Ministry of Justice figures also show there are a record 11,498 foreign national prisoners in jails - helping to fuel a record population of 83,810, including 145 in police cells, because of overcrowding.

Within the overall prison population, there are now 11,380 inmates serving indeterminate sentences for public protection and those given life sentences.

Shrewsbury jail is the most overcrowded establishment in England and Wales with its 178 places holding 326 inmates which, according to the Prison Reform Trust, means it has an overcrowding rate of 183 per cent.

Swansea, which has 425 prisoners in 240 places, was named as the second most crowded, at 177%.

The Prison Reform Trust said that almost two thirds of prisons are officially overcrowded, with the system holding 10,000 more offenders than it was designed to handle.

Juliet Lyon, director of the Turst, said: “In an economic downturn, it defies belief that billions of pounds should be spent locking up more and more people only to turn them out of jail homeless, jobless and ready to offend again.

“The prison population is mushrooming out of control, and the government is still trying hopelessly to build its way out of a crisis.”

The Government is planning to spend £2.3 billion to provide 10,500 additional prison spaces, including three Titan jails each holding 2,500 inmates.

However, the Commons Justice Select Committee has said that the programme is not based on “solid foundations”. Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, embarked on the scheme after accepting the recommendations of a report by Lord Carter of Coles, a Labour peer, who was also best man at Mr Straw’s wedding.

David Hanson, the Prisons Minister, said the figures published by the Ministry of Justice did not show any prison operating beyond the safe level agreed by prisons and area managers.

The twenty most overcrowding prisons in England and Wales

1. Shrewsbury (at 183% of capacity)

2. Swansea (177%)

3. Leicester (173%)

4. Preston (171%)

5. Dorchester (165%)

5. Lincoln (165%)

5. Usk (165%)

8. Altcourse (161%)

9. Canterbury (160%)

9. Durham (160%)

9. Exeter (160%)

12. Bedford (158%)

13. Northallerton (157%)

14. Wandsworth (152%)

15. Doncaster (146%)

15. Winchester (146%)

17. Bristol (145%)

17. Cardiff (145%)

17. Forest Bank (145%)

17. Lancaster (145%)

The jails with more than 1000 inmates

Wandsworth 1645

Birmingham 1439

Hewell 1421

Liverpool 1371

Wormwood Scrubs 1270

Altcourse 1205

Manchester 1195

Parc 1179

Forest Bank 1152

Pentonville 1148

Doncaster 1141

Highdown 1109

Risley 1077

Wymott 1073

Ranby 1072

Lindholme 1069

Hull 1036

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