VISITORS to Preston Prison could be saved the humiliating wait outside the gates if a bid for a new waiting area gets the go-ahead.

Bosses at the site this week announced plans to apply for a grant through the Urban Regeneration Bid to pay for a visitors centre.

Governor Dick Crouch agreed there was a problem: "We do have a basic waiting area which is about 20 yards from the main gate. It's sheltered and relatively isolated.

"We know we need to upgrade and so we have made tentative plans. We are addressing a grant through the Urban Regeneration bid for a new visitors centre."

The announcement follows the release of a booklet, Outside Help, which highlights the difficulties associated with visiting offenders. The guide published by NACRO, the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders, includes topics such as finding out where an inmate has been sent, how to contact them and how to cope without them.

NACRO information advice manager Mervyn Barrett said: "The problems experienced by prisoners' families are often underestimated. Many face huge financial and emotional problems when a loved one goes to prison."

Outside Help is available free of charge by sending an SAE to NACRO Publications, 169, Clapham Road, London, SW9 OPU, or call the information line on 0171-840-6464.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.