A prison officer who began working at Manchester's high-security Strangeways prison aged just 19 has avoided jail despite having a three-month relationship with an inmate, after admitting misconduct in public office. Samantha Stowell, now 23, exchanged explicit messages, topless photos and videos with prisoner Conor Dobson, who also paid nearly £1,200 into her bank account, before a judge at Manchester Crown Court handed her a suspended sentence rather than immediate custody.

The relationship, which ran between February and August 2023, came to light after prison staff found a hidden phone in Dobson's cell during a search, prompting an investigation. Payments from Dobson, made via a relative, were disguised with references such as "dinner date", "Tiffany and Co" and "hair". Stowell told police she had "been stupid" and said she had leant on Dobson for support after a colleague's suicide and the break-up of her own relationship; she was sacked in August 2023 after failing to return to work, and the judge questioned why she had been allowed to start at the "lion's den" prison at such a young age.