CHILLING MEMORY
A FEMALE prison psychologist who has worked with the UK's most dangerous lags has revealed a horror moment that still haunts her to this day.
Dr Jacqueline Blyth from HMP Long Lartin told all in a new Channel 5 documentary on her time with the country's most notorious prisoners.
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Inside HMP Long Lartin: Evil Behind Bars, which airs tonight at 9pm, explores behind the doors of the high-security prison in South Littleton, Worcestershire.
The prison psychologist worked at the slammer - which also housed infamous gangster Reggie Kray - for several years and has now revealed the most haunting experiences she encountered within the prison walls.
While working in the jail, Dr Blyth said she was regularly scared for her well-being and felt "vulnerable" while carrying out her duties.
She said in the documentary that she only dealt with the prisoners who were serving life sentences for horrific acts such as "murderers, rapists and terrorists".
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Recalling the daunting first moment that she came face-to-face with a prisoner, the officer leading the way told her: "Now you're going to have to decide whether you're going to sit near the alarm, or near the door, because it could take somebody just a couple of seconds to get their hands around your throat."
The psychologist said she thought to herself: "Oh my god, what kind of men are in here?"
Dr Blyth admitted she was on edge after starting her position at the prison and told how she was "anxious for the first three months," and "really quite scared".
While working at HMP Long Lartin, she met the infamous serial killer Colin Ireland, who killed five gay men in 1993 and was sentenced to life in prison before he died in 2012.
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And there was one feature about him which still haunts her.
She recounted that Ireland had a "psychopathic stare," when she spoke to him, which led her to deem him unfit for parole.
"You just assumed, as soon as he gets out on parole, he's gonna carry on where he left off," she said.
"And I knew then that he was never going to get out," she added.
She was given the task to decide whether he was fit for parole after having to sift through graphic files.
Although she admitted that she would usually begin her assessment "from the point of empathy, trying to understand these defenders," she found dealing with crimes that contained cruelty and torture "quite difficult".
Dr Blyth recalled feeling horrified by Ireland's crimes, admitting that she felt "nervous" being in the same room as him and that the memories continue to haunt her.
"Seeing a psychologist is always confidential. Prison officers might be standing outside by the door, but there is nobody in the room with you,'" she explained.
Ireland died in Wakefield in 2012, age 57.
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