Woman suffers 'panic attack' after getting locked in Scots prison on visit

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A woman has described how she had a "panic attack" after becoming trapped in a Scots prison while visiting her partner. The finance worker was locked in a dark visiting room for an hour and a half at HMP Edinburgh after spending 45 minutes with her partner.

Edinburgh prison bosses have been forced to apologise for the embarrassing mishap, Edinburgh Live has said. The 41-year-old woman described how she screamed and kicked the door out of fear she was going stuck there all night.Prison officers had first taken her partner away from the visiting room before saying they would be return to let her out.“I had a panic attack - it was very frightening," the woman said.“They took him away and told me they would be back to get me.“Five minutes went by and I wondered what was taking them and it just got longer and longer.“I was yelling and hammering on the door.“It was cold and I was terrified I was going to have to spend the night locked in there with no water or access to a loo.“I’ve no idea how something like this could happen.”Her partner, 49, raised the alarm on his prison-issued mobile phone.He told The Scottish Sun: “I always ring to make sure she got out okay and is back safely at her car.“When she didn’t pick up I asked one of the guards to check on her but I was fobbed off.“I tried again half an hour later and the same thing happened.“This place is a shambles.”A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: “We can confirm somebody was inadvertently detained after visiting.

When the matter came to light, she was released.“The prison has made contact with her directly to apologise and make sure she is okay.”