AN armed robber who stole a handbag at the Forest Shopping Centre in Bordon is the latest inmate to have been found dead at a troubled prison.

Ashley Austin, 36, was locked up for four years and eight months after snatching a woman’s handbag outside Lidl, on Pinehill Road, in July last year.

He was found dead in his cell at Chelmsford Prison, in Essex, last Monday.

Mr Austin, 36, previously of no fixed address, was jailed after he admitted sneaking up behind a woman and cutting the strap of her handbag with a knife. He was chased and pinned down by two passers-by.

The drug addict admitted robbery and possession of a knife at Winchester Crown Court in August last year.

Mr Austin’s death comes just months after a jury inquest found that serious failings at the jail contributed to the death of inmate Dean Saunders, who killed himself in January last year.

The 25 year old suffered from mental-health problems but jurors found there was a “total lack of consistency and logic regarding the level of risk ascribed to Dean’s situation” and only “perfunctory” observations were made.

Following the ruling, Deborah Coles, director of the charity Inquest, which helps the families of those who die in custody, said: “Dean Saunders, a young father in serious mental-health crisis, should never have been in prison in the first place.

“His death was entirely preventable. The responsibility for his death lies with a system that criminalises people for being mentally ill.

“As a society, we should not accept that deaths such as Dean’s are inevitable - they are not.

“Time and again, we hear the empty words ‘lessons will be learned’.

“Without action and accountability, nothing will change. Until this Government properly invests in mental-health provision, and stops the use of prison for people in mental-health crisis, these tragic and needless deaths will continue.”

Inquests into the deaths of two more prisoners, Craig Royce and Timothy Shaw, are set to take place later this year at Chelmsford Coroner’s Court.

There have now been seven suspected suicides at the prison over the past two years.

Mr Austin’s inquest will also be held at Chelmsford Coroner’s Court at a later date.

Figures released by the Ministry of Justice in July also showed assaults on staff and prisoners at Chelmsford Prison were at an all-time high.

A Prison Service spokesman said: “HMP Chelmsford prisoner Ashley Austin (date of birth May 27, 1981) died in custody on Monday. As with all deaths in custody there will be an independent investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.”

An Essex Police spokesman said: “We were contacted shortly after 6.20am on Monday, October 16, with reports of the death of a man at Chelmsford Prison.

“The man was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. His death is currently being treated as unexplained, not suspicious.

“A file is being prepared for HM Coroner.”

In June, three members of the public were awarded, at Hampshire’s Chief Constable’s Awards, for their respective roles in stopping the robbery.

Deborah Allmey-Ayes, Terry Bicknell and Nathan Jones were said to have demonstrated outstanding bravery when they were confronted with the situation. Ms Allmey-Ayes was in the Lidl car park, on July 1, 2016, putting her shopping into her car when she was approached from behind by a man with a knife.

He tried to snatch her handbag from her shoulder and, when that did not work, he used a knife to cut the strap. She screamed for help and then chased the robber, catching up with him and struggling to get back her bag, despite the fact he was armed.

Upon hearing her shouts for help, Mr Bicknell and Mr Jones, who just happened to be passing by, sprang into action.

Mr Bicknell launched himself at the knife-wielding robber, grabbing him and tackling him to the ground.

Mr Jones immediately pinned the robber’s legs to the floor, at which point he saw the large kitchen knife and quickly grabbed it.

As both men restrained the robber, they called 999 and kept him detained until officers arrived.

All three were awarded Chief Constable Commendations for outstanding bravery, community spirit and selfless action.

Chief Constable Olivia Pinkney said it was reassuring to hear about the “selfless actions” of Mr Bicknell and Mr Jones who demonstrated “the strength of community spirit”.

Mr Austin was charged with robbery and possession of a bladed article. He pleaded guilty and was jailed in August for four years and six months.