THE family of a former prisoner has hailed his time behind bars as “a positive one”.

Bosses at HMP Haverigg shared quotes from a letter staff received thanking them for the way they made a former inmate and his family’s experience "much more pleasant".

An extract of the letter sent by a mother was posted to HMP Haverigg’s social media page.

It said: “To everyone who made my son’s stay at Haverigg a positive one, I visited many times with my grandson and want to thank you all for making these such a pleasant experience.

“So often you hear about dreadful conditions in prisons but Haverigg was not like that.

“This last year has been the worst of my life but you made it a much more pleasant experience and I really want to thank you for that.”