Prisoner Keith Potts dies in HMP Five Wells
A fourteenth prisoner connected to HMP Five Wells has died.
An investigation has been opened by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) following the death of Keith Potts in HMP Five Wells on June 19.
He was 75 when he died.
His cause of death has not been revealed and several enquiries from this newspaper to police forces have not been able to establish further details as to the identity of Mr Potts or the reason for his incarceration. West Midlands Police, the force area in which it’s believed Mr Potts may have lived before he was imprisoned, did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr Potts is the fourteenth prisoner to die while at, or shortly after release from, HMP Five Wells, since it opened in February 2022. Four of those 14 have died post-release, which is a time when convicts are considered to be very vulnerable as they often have insecure housing and a gap between leaving prison and having any income. Four of the deaths have occurred in the first seven months of 2026.
The other prisoners to die are John Boswell, Brian Haines, Dean Newton, Nicholas Lowe, Tudor Owen, Jason McDonagh, Roger Lemon, Reece Pryce, Kevin Golby, Harold Day, Kenny Grubb and Anthony Foster.
The name of the first prisoner to die has never been made public.
G4S, which runs the prison in Doddington Road, Wellingborough, have not responded to a request for comment.
The PPO publicly investigates every death in custody ensure that any mistakes that may have led to that death are highlighted and remedied.