IT'S BECOME a Sunday Times top ten bestseller and has had rave reviews across bookshop retail platforms, so what's it like to delve into Inside Parkhurst?

Former prison officer David Berridge doesn't hold back in his account of his 28 years working behind the high walls at the world famous (and infamous) Parkhurst Prison.

The book is an easy read — cut down into bite-sized snippets of events and gossip about the machinations behind the prison bars, from the killers and terrorists to the staff themselves.

It draws you in from the start, kicking off with arguably the biggest story to have come out of the prison — the escape of three inmates in 1995.

It then goes into Chapter 1 — Dave's training as a new recruit at the age of 32.

He claims he was nervous but that doesn't quite ring true — Dave's been known for years as quite the toughie, capable of feats no ordinary human would consider such as extreme endurance challenges including running through jungle and climbing volcanoes.

Whatever he was like at 32, he was made of enough steel to put up with the characters of Parkhurst for nearly three decades. Maybe it was that that toughened him up!

Readers not used to prison terminology will love finding out all the slang and meanings. What's a NEPO, what's the Zulu unit, who is a 'package, what's the chokey?

Islanders who know some of the prison staff of old might have fun playing detective. Can they recognise anyone? Names have of course been changed but Dave assures readers that everything did actually happen, unbelievable as some of it might seem.

Having said that, it's not a stretch to work out who Mr Former Glam Rock Star could be...

What do prisoners do all day? What rights do they have? What luxuries do they enjoy? All this is revealed in this eye-opening account.

Inside Parkhurst is definitely worth picking up off the shelves.

It's widely available in all major retailers including Asda, Tesco, Waterstones, WHSmith, Amazon and The Word.

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