A riot at overcrowded Lincoln jail in eastern England has ended after eight hours of disturbances.
Police in riot gear were called after inmates set fire to parts of the jail and raided its pharmacy. About 300 police surrounded the prison as smoke was seen coming from the building.
The disturbance caused "considerable damage" inside the Victorian jail, according to prison officials. Seventeen people were taken to Lincoln County Hospital, most of them inmates. None had suffered serious injuries.
The prison, home to disgraced author Jeffrey Archer until last month, holds about 500 prisoners.
"It's overcrowded, but it's not a hellhole," Mr Martin Narey, director general of the Prison Service, told BBC radio. "There is nothing at all in the conditions there to justify this behaviour".
In September, the Lincoln Prison board said overcrowding at the jail - which meant prisoners were being locked in cells for longer periods than usual - was adversely affecting staff and prisoners.
