An open prison in Britain went up in flames this morning when inmates rioted over attempts to make them submit to breathalyzer tests. One officer described the lead-up to the riot as "a scene out of Benny Hill."

Prison officials have long suspected that inmates at the Ford Prison were boozing, after finding dozens of empty bottles laying around the premises. Things finally came to a head when, according to the deputy general secretary of the Prison Officers Association, Mark Freeman, guards tried to break up a raging New Year's Eve party:

Staff have been running around trying to breathalyse prisoners, it's been reminiscent of the end scenes of The Benny Hill Show, the only thing missing was the music."

According to reports, only two guards and four support staff were on duty at Ford Prison — which houses 200 prisoners — when the riot went off early this morning. Freeman added, "This is what happens when you have the mix of easily available alcohol and the wrong type of prisoner."

[Independent]