Downview Women’s Prison in Banstead has been told too many of its inmates are being freed without having anywhere to live.

It’s after HM Chief Inspector of Prisons made an unannounced visit to the site in February.

Its report shows less than a quarter of those released have sustainable accommodation to go to, while around 10% are homeless.

It also said patients needing treatment under the Mental Health Act waited too long to be transferred to hospital, and one patient had waited 156 days.

Downview held 302 women at the time of inspection, most of whom were serving sentences longer than four years.

However, the report also found Downview to be “safe, well run and having improved since its last inspection”.

The report revealed relationships between prisoners and staff were “generally excellent,” but “the prison was let down by some officers who were rude or dismissive to the women in their care.”

The report says the governor was beginning to deal with some of these residual staffing issues and was aware of her less well performing staff members.

Inspectors identified 10 key concerns, of which five should be treated as priorities.

The Ministry of Justice says it is working with councils to improve outcomes for women.