Father, 29, 'died needlessly' at 'understaffed' prison, say family

A 29-YEAR-OLD father died from a drug overdose while incarcerated at a prison notorious for alleged drug problems, an inquest has heard.

- JONATHON HILL

Ross Appleby

Father-of-three Ross Appleby, from Newport, died in January 2023 having taken synthetic cannabinoids, known colloquially as spice, and protonitazene.

A fellow inmate had previously told the inquest Mr Appleby smoked spice often in his cell at HMP Parc in Bridgend but he claimed that wasn't unusual. The inquest heard Mr Appleby was "found in a state of unresponsiveness by members of staff who tried to help him" before his death at the prison two years ago.

Mr Appleby is one of multiple men to have died at the G4S-controlled prison, sparking concerns around drugs allegedly being smuggled in. Following HM Inspectorate of Prisons inspections (HMIP) in 2024, HMIP found HMP Parc made more than 900 drug finds in that year.

On Thursday the jury concluded Mr Appleby’s death was drug-related. They concluded his death was “sudden” and “unexpected” after he was “exposed to synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists and protonitazene”.