1 week Ago By [email protected] (Sofie Jackson)
An inmate who died the day after his release from prison should have been referred to a substance misuse service, a report has found. Leigh Brydges died aged 47 on August 25, 2022, following his release from HMP Humber in Brough the previous day. An inquest into his death, held on April 1, 2025, concluded his death was drug related.
The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman said Mr Brydges had a "history of alcohol and substance misuse" in its report into his death, which was published on April 4. But when he arrived at the prison, he told the reception nurse he hadn't taken drugs for three months, and so was not referred to the substance misuse services. On May 20, 2022, a prison officer saw Mr Brydges "retrieve something from his visitor’s waistband" during a visit and put it in his mouth.
The officer searched Mr Brydges, while another officer checked the CCTV. CCTV confirmed his visitor had passed him two small parcels. Mr Brydges had a body scan, which "revealed a package prison staff believed to be Subutex", an opioid used to treat opioid dependency and pain.
Mr Brydges was then escorted to the segregation unit. The Drugs Strategy Manager was made aware, but Mr Brydges was not referred to the Drug and Alcohol Recovery Team (DART). On August 19, Mr Brydges was given a copy of his licence with the conditions of his release which instructed him to attend Grimsby Probation Office on the day of his release, undergo drug testing, and engage with the community-based drug and alcohol support service, We Are With You.
Mr Brydges was released from prison and reported to Grimsby Probation Office on August 24, where the duty officer conducted an induction appointment. Mr Brydges provided his partner's number as his primary contact number until he was able to buy a phone. Next morning, August 25, Mr Brydges' partner "noticed he was not breathing and called the emergency services and began CPR".
Paramedics attended and pronounced him dead. The Ombudsman found Mr Brydges was never referred to We Are With You. The community offender manager believed Mr Brydges was under the care of the prison’s substance misuse team and they had referred him to We Are With You, but this was not the case.
Keep up to date with all the latest breaking news and top stories from Hull with our free newsletter Giving its recommendation, the Ombudsman said: "The Local Delivery Unit Manager of North & Northeast Lincolnshire Probation Service should ensure that community offender managers check that necessary referrals have been made to community-based support services prior to release." A Probation Service spokesperson said: "Our thoughts remain with Leigh Brydges’ friends and family. We have implemented the Prison and Probation Ombudsman’s recommendation and introduced a new process to ensure probation staff are made aware of all referrals to community-based substance misuse services so they can better track offender’s progress.
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