HEALTH and safety bosses could be called in to address the 'shocking' state of HMP Greenock according to a top civil servant.

HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland Wendy Sinclair-Gieben has threatened to bring the Health & Safety Executive into the Greenock jail if its condition has not improved by its next inspection in March.

Speaking at a meeting of the Scottish Government's Criminal Justice Committee, the inspector stated that the prison was one of two Scottish jails which gave her 'considerable concern' and she highlighted its 'shocking' condition.

Forty cells had to be closed last year due to a leaking roof at the century-plus old jail.

Following a question from Labour MSP Katy Clark, Ms Sinclair-Gieben told politicians that a 'vast' number of cells at the ageing jail out of use due to damp.

She said: "There are two prisons that give me considerable concern - one is Greenock.

"For those of you [members of the committee] that haven't visited Greenock, there are a vast number of cells that are out of use because the damp comes into the prison and makes them uninhabitable.

"The roof there suffers ingress regularly and they're having to fix and repair.

"The cost of maintaining Greenock I think outweighs its value, it's an expensive site.

"It's a good site, I think there are opportunities to re-develop that would give money back into the prison service."

The chief inspector said that the decision about whether to involve health and safety bosses would be made following the prison's next inspection.

She added: "We're going back into Greenock on inspection next March.

"If it's in the same condition that it was on our last inspection I will be pulling in the Health and Safety Executive with me."

Despite the poor state of the jail, Ms Sinclair-Gieben praised the work of staff at the prison and said that relationships between employees and prisoners were excellent.

Plans to replace the 112-year-old building have been repeatedly shelved by Scottish Prison Service bosses, with no movement on replacing it not expected to commence until at least 2026.

Almost £8m of public money was previously spent on buying and clearing a proposed site in the south west of the town for a new jail in 2011, but the project has never been given a start date.

West Scotland MSP Ms Clark told the Telegraph that waiting to replace the prison was 'incredibly dangerous'.

She said: “The Scottish Government must heed these terrifying warnings.

“The most basic functions of our criminal justice system and prison service are under threat because of these cuts.

“Greenock Prison is in urgent need of replacement.

"Given the announced cuts and the health and safety concerns, waiting until 2025 or 2026 to take action is incredibly dangerous.

“Human rights will be violated, staff will be failed, and the victims of crime will be let down.

“An underfunded and under-resourced prison service is dangerous for prisoners, prison workers and public visitors alike."