ENGLAND - Two women's jails are to be turned into prisons for men in a bid to reduce overcrowding, the Home Office has said.  Brockhill Prison in Redditch, Worcestershire, and Bullwood Hall in Hockley, Essex, are the affected sites.

Prisons minister Gerry Sutcliffe said both were able to hold men at the appropriate security category.

But a spokeswoman for a prison pressure group said it could have potentially life-threatening implications for women being sent further from their families.

Mr Sutcliffe said the decision reflected the constantly changing nature of the prison population.

The numbers of male prisoners have continued to rise while the number of women prisoners remains stable, he explained.

The change will provide an extra 335 places for male prisoners and comes as the number of prisoners in England and Wales gets close to breaking an all-time record.

There were 77,462 inmates last week, compared with the previous record of 77,823 last November.

Mr Sutcliffe said: "The decision to change the function of any prison is a very difficult one but in order to continue to manage prisons safely and effectively we must be able to react to, and deal with, the constantly changing nature of the prison population.

"Both Brockhill and Bullwood Hall represent the best option as both are able to hold men at the appropriate security category and provide a positive and constructive environment in order to address offending behaviour and help prisoners live successful crime free lives on release.

"I am confident that both prisons and their staff will respond to these challenges and work hard to meet the new demands placed upon them."

But Deborah Coles of Inquest said the news was concerning.

"The pressure this re-roling will place on already overcrowded, poorly resourced women's prisons cannot be underestimated and is potentially life-threatening," she said.

"The recent reduction in overcrowding across the women's prison estate was seen as one of the reasons for the decrease in suicide rates amongst women in prison in 2005-2006.

"It would be a great shame to see a reversal of this trend and suggests the welfare of women is a low priority on the Home Office agenda."

Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said instead of putting the women into other "bleak establishments" the Home Office should put the vast majority into the drug and alcohol treatment or mental healthcare they desperately need.