Prisoners nearing the end of their sentences will be spending the last few weeks of their sentences closer to home.

Police and Crime Commissioner David Lloyd has led a year-long campaign to have Hertfordshire prisoners finish their sentences in HMP The Mount in Bovingdon, the county’s only prison.

The Government announced plans to transform rehabilitation by sending prisoners to jails near them.

But under the plans, prisoners from London would be sent to The Mount while those from Hertfordshire would go to Suffolk.

Commissioner Lloyd lobbied the Ministry of Justice over the past 12 months to secure The Mount for Hertfordshire and has now been informed that his campaign has been successful.

Commissioner Lloyd said: “This is an excellent result for Hertfordshire. Getting prison leavers properly reintegrated back into the community is the best thing that can be done to stop them offending again.”