'Bullied' prisoner used as 'spice drug guinea pig' died in jail

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A prisoner who was found collapsed in his cell after being bullied into taking spice that led to his death. A report found that Kyle Batsford was bullied and used ‘as a guinea pig’ for psychoactive drugs by other prisoners who used this "as a form of entertainment", a report has found.

The 37-year-old father-of-one died in hospital on September 25, 2019, after being found unresponsive in his cell at HMP Lindholme, Doncaster, YorkshireLive reported.

Tests showed that he was under the influence of psychoactive substances (sometimes called 'Spice') that had caused a heart attack which resulted in his brain being starved of oxygen.

A report by the Prisons Ombudsman said: "There is evidence that he was bullied by other prisoners because he had built up drug debts, and that he may have been bullied into using PS (psychoactive substances) shortly before his death." READ MORE: Couple suffer 70 HOURS of TUI flight delays on Greek holiday as two flights cancelled and luggage left in Manchester The Ombudsman said: "There is evidence that Mr Batsford got into debt because of his PS use and that, as a result, he was bullied and used as a ‘PS guinea pig’ by other prisoners." Mr Batsford, from Northampton, initially refused to name the perpetrators but later mentioned the nicknames of two prisoners who had tried to force him to take psychoactive substances and who he said had slapped and tried to stab him when he refused.