Prisons in England and Wales record rapid rise in drones delivering drugs

Exclusive: tenfold increase in drone incidents since 2020 leads MPs to call for urgent action over security concerns

Prisons will need more money to combat the rapid rise in drones delivering drugs, the head of an influential Commons committee has said, as figures showed the number of aerial incursions predicted to have tripled in two years.

A freedom of information request by the Guardian found there were 1,296 drone incidents at prisons in England and Wales in the 10 months to the end of October 2024, a tenfold increase since 2020.