A 12-hour siege inside Parkhurst Prison ended half-a-century ago when a senior Isle of Wight police officer agreed to take the place of a hostage held at knifepoint.
At 11:00 on 28th February 1976, routine inside C Wing at Parkhurst Prison was abruptly shattered. 2 inmates seized prison officer David Lavers, 35, dragged him into a cell and held a crude home-made knife against him. C Wing – used to house psychiatric and disturbed prisoners – was immediately sealed as officers moved into position outside the cell door.
Negotiations were conducted through the small aperture in the heavy door, with a growing group of prison officers gathered tightly in the corridor beyond. Inside the cell, the knife was repeatedly brandished, the threat never allowed to fade.
By mid-afternoon, the prisoners issued their first ultimatum.
“We give you until 16:00 to meet our demands or we knife your officer.”
The demands were stark and uncompromising. The prisoners wanted firearms, a helicopter and their release. One of the men was serving a life sentence, the other was imprisoned for violent offences. No food or water was provided during the siege. Inside the cell, the men listened to news bulletins on a transistor radio, fully aware that their actions were being followed beyond the prison walls.
As the hours passed, concern grew that news of the incident could spark unrest elsewhere in the jail. Extra prison officers and police were drafted in, while senior officers were rushed to the Island by hovercraft. The risk was heightened by the nature of C Wing’s population. At the time, it housed some of the country’s most notorious inmates, including Reg and Ronnie Kray, Blackpool police murderer George Sewell and IRA bomber Noel Jenkinson.
Threats against Lavers continued throughout the afternoon and into the evening. Officers waiting outside the cell made it clear that no concessions would be granted.
A prison spokesman later described the danger faced by the hostage.
“It was a terrible ordeal for him. The two men were desperate and really meant business. Time and again they threatened the officer with a home-made knife – a ready weapon brandished in a convincing way.”
As night fell, the siege reached its critical point. At around 23:00, the prisoners offered to release Lavers, but only on one condition: that Detective Chief Inspector William Durrant – head of the Isle of Wight CID – took his place.
Durrant agreed to the exchange. As Lavers was released and moved clear, prison officers immediately rushed the cell, overpowering the prisoners and securing them before the situation could escalate further. The siege was brought to an end without loss of life.
Lavers was treated for shock and later recovered. The two prisoners were placed in solitary confinement. The following day, the incident made front-page news.
The Prison Officers’ Association recommended Durrant for a gallantry award, and Isle of Wight MP Steve Ross later raised concerns with then Home Secretary Roy Jenkins over the growing number of psychiatric prisoners being held at Parkhurst.
I remember it very well, I was there