Shocking footage has emerged from the UK of what appears to be inmates passing something between cells at a prison in London.

The video was shot at around midday on Tuesday at Wormwood Scrubs Prison by a workman in a nearby hospital.

It appears to show three prisoners using rope to pass the contraband between their cell windows.

It is reportedly the latest sign of a crisis in British jails, with a recent riot and a break-out in the space of two days.

The video shows just how easy it can be to pass contraban theoughout prison. After the past week (x2 escape from pentonville and the bedford riots) I personally think that all prison throughout the UK would be on high alert but this is clearly not the case. This video shows how easy it is for prisoners to get hold of contraban. What could it be? The parcel could be anything - a knife, a mobile, maybe tools to plan an escape. Who knows?