Raw sewage floods parts of Mount Gambier Prison

Parts of a prison in the state’s South-East has been hit with a flood of raw sewage, with carpets, books and tables thrown out.

Mount Gambier Prison in 2017. Picture: Tait Schmaal.

Raw sewage has flooded parts of a privately-run SA prison after a blanket was reportedly stuffed down a drain.

Mount Gambier Prison in the state’s South-East, operated by security and facility services company G4S, was hit by the sewage issue.

In an anonymous post shared to a Facebook group, a user claims the prison has been plagued with a raw sewage issue, which left cottages in the Kanawinka section flooded.

“All the carpets have to be pulled up, all the library books etc have to be thrown out, all the tables in education have to be thrown out as all are contaminated,” the user claimed.

“Someone in C side put a blanket down the drain and resulted in a major blockage.”

A G4S spokesman told The Advertiser an isolated sewage incident has occurred.

“The affected area has been contained and cleaned to ensure the safety and wellbeing of staff and the people in our care,” the spokesman said.

They also confirmed the incident had not affected oper

ations at the prison, which “continue as normal”.

The spokesman did not provide any further details about the incident, including when the incident occurred, how long it lasted or which parts of the prison were affected.

The privately-run men’s prison is a low- to medium-security facility that has 493 beds.

G4S has operated the jail since 1995.

In September 2017, it was awarded a new five-year contract - with the possibility of a further term of up to five years, according to its website.