Chesterfield mother demands answers after son, 23, dies in Nottingham prison

A grieving mother is demanding answers after her 'loving' son died in prison.
Marc Maltby. Picture submitted by family.Marc Maltby. Picture submitted by family.
Marc Maltby. Picture submitted by family.

The body of Marc Maltby, 23, was found in HMP Nottingham last Thursday.

He is the prison’s fifth inmate to die within a month and the second from Derbyshire.

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His mother Sharon Whitford, 43, of Gloucester Road, Newbold, told how her family was visited by a prison service representative who said Mr Maltby had ligature marks around his neck but they could not confirm if he had hanged himself.

Sharon Whitford holding a picture of her son Marc Maltby (in the white top) who was sadly found dead in Nottingham prison. Picture by Brian Eyre.Sharon Whitford holding a picture of her son Marc Maltby (in the white top) who was sadly found dead in Nottingham prison. Picture by Brian Eyre.
Sharon Whitford holding a picture of her son Marc Maltby (in the white top) who was sadly found dead in Nottingham prison. Picture by Brian Eyre.

Mrs Whitford said she went to see her son's body on Friday but he did not have marks around his neck.

She told the Derbyshire Times: "We don't really have a clue what happened.

"We're all sat here absolutely heartbroken waiting for answers.

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"We want to know how Mark died - I don't believe he would have killed himself.

The late Marc Maltby.The late Marc Maltby.
The late Marc Maltby.

"He's the fifth inmate to die at the prison in the space of a month.

"They should all have been safe."

A Ministry of Justice (MoJ) spokesman said: "As with all deaths in custody, independent investigations by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman are ongoing and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage."

Mrs Whitford - who has five other children - said her son was around three weeks into a four-month sentence for 'petty stuff' including not attending probation meetings on time.

Sharon Whitford holding a picture of her son Marc Maltby (in the white top) who was sadly found dead in Nottingham prison. Picture by Brian Eyre.Sharon Whitford holding a picture of her son Marc Maltby (in the white top) who was sadly found dead in Nottingham prison. Picture by Brian Eyre.
Sharon Whitford holding a picture of her son Marc Maltby (in the white top) who was sadly found dead in Nottingham prison. Picture by Brian Eyre.
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Paying tribute to him, she said: "Marc was a loving, bubbly, wonderful person and touched many hearts.

"He loved going out with friends, music and fishing - he enjoyed his life.

"Marc loved his family to bits and we loved him to bits.

"He had a cheeky smile and will be missed by so many.

The late Marc Maltby.The late Marc Maltby.
The late Marc Maltby.

"Like a lot of people, he was no angel at times - but if he did upset someone he'd always go up to them and make them smile again."

Mrs Whitford has now launched a JustGiving page to raise money to give him the 'best possible send-off' - CLICK HERE TO DONATE.

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HMP Nottingham is a male category B prison, which takes prisoners from Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire courts, and has a capacity of 1,060 inmates.

In July, an Independent Monitoring Boards report said the prison had a problem with violence and drugs.

The MoJ spokesman added: "HMP Nottingham is working closely with health colleagues to increase the support available to vulnerable prisoners and is increasing staffing levels which will boost safety and stability at the prison - an extra 40 prison officers have recently been recruited.

"The prison has put a number of measures into place to tackle the threat of drugs and across the estate we are also taking unprecedented action to stop the supply of drugs, including training over 300 specialist drug dogs and making it a criminal offence to possess psychoactive substances."

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