Male prisons in England and Wales have fewer than 1,800 spaces

Male prisons have fewer than 1,800 spaces available in England and Wales, the lowest level since March.

More than 83,000 spaces are occupied by male inmates, despite the government introducing a presumption against jailing anyone for under one year to free up more space.

Prison staff told the BBC the high level of offenders being recalled to prison for breaching license conditions given on their release or re-offending has cancelled out much of the extra room. Since June, there has been a downward trend in the number of vacant spaces.

The spike comes before the government is set to release about 5,000 inmates early from October to alleviate overcrowding.

PM asks justice secretary to find way to keep PC Harper's killers in jail

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said it was building more prisons while exploring early release options and expanding electronic tagging.

The figures come after Prime Minister Andy Burnham made more prisoners exempt from the upcoming early release scheme following backlash from victims.

Burnham came under further pressure after the killers of PC Andrew Harper would still be eligible for early release.