A SCANDAL jail where 18 female staff were fired or resigned over affairs with inmates has been hit by a staffing crisis.

       The women’s departures have contributed to the shortage at Britain’s largest male prison.

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       Ayshea Gunn, 27, was jailed for a relationship with a lag Credit: WNS 4

       Emily Watson, 26, was also jailed after an affair at HMP Berwyn in Wrexham, North Wales Credit: WNS 4

       Jennifer Gavan, 27, also got locked up in the past year Credit: WNS

       A new Independent Monitoring Boards report describes the staff issue as “the biggest destabilising factor” at HMP Berwyn in Wrexham, North Wales.

       The 18 cases have arisen since the 2,100-capacity jail opened in early 2017.

       It has emerged that some of the 18 were operational staff at the prison.

       Others were wor-king there from partner organisations, in areas such as rehabilitation.

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       Three female guards — Jennifer Gavan, 27, Ayshea Gunn, 27, and Emily Watson, 26 — have been jailed in the past year for relationships with lags.

       The report looked at a period from March 2022 to February this year.

       It said the jail, for Category B and C prisoners, has been gradually “opening up” since Covid.

       But it stated: “Progress has been adversely affected by shortages of operational staff and probation officers.”

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       It added that many staff were inexperienced.

       The Prison Service said that more staff are being recruited.

       In response to the affairs scandal, it said anti-corruption training had been given to more than 500 workers in the past 18 months.

       Crime and security expert Chris Phillips said: “It beggars belief that so many female officers could be involved in relationships with inmates.

       “Where is the supervision of these officers?”

       A spokesman for The Prison Officers Association said: “At Berwyn, staff there for only three or four months are teaching new staff.

       “When you put young staff in and they mix with experienced prisoners — a lot of them wealthy — they are cultivating them.”

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       HMP Berwyn has now been hit by a staffing crisis Credit: Getty