Vertical farming is being trialled as a rehabilitation aid to prisoners for the first time in the UK.

Prisoners will learn indoor farming practices with the aim of helping them find full-time employment when they are released.

The first aeroponic container farm has been delivered to HM Prison Hewell in Worcestershire.

The main purpose of the farm is training rather than food production.

The salad, vegetables and herbs produced in the container farm will be used in meals for the prisoners.

The prisoners will learn plant husbandry skills, how aeroponics works, how to use a farm management software platform, indoor farm standard operating procedures, as well as HACCP and Food Safety.

Aeroponics is a method of growing plants without soil, in a nutrient-rich mist.

Ralph Lubowski, Governor of Her Majesty's Prisons, said: "I am delighted to partner with LettUs Grow in this fantastic initiative, which will give our prisoners the opportunity, confidence and training to turn their lives around.

“Vertical farming is an innovative, emerging industry and this partnership highlights our commitment to ensuring that prisoners are skilled up to find work on release."

Only 17 per cent of ex-offenders manage to secure a job within a year of release.

Employment is one of the most effective ways of improving life quality and reducing re-offending.

Prisons minister, Stuart Andrew MP, said: “This innovative scheme reflects our drive to equip prisoners with the cutting-edge practical skills needed to gain employment and play a positive role in society.

“Allied to education, family ties and addiction treatment, stable work holds the key to a life free from crime and safer communities for us all.”

The container farm, called DROP & GROW, has been delivered by LettUs Grow.

Billy Rodgers, growing specialist and partner support manager at LettUs Grow, said: “We’re offering an extra level of support, on top of the usual training, for this project by putting together growing plans, managing consumables like seeds or fertiliser, and delivering at regular intervals throughout the year.

“The aim is to take pressure off site managers and make running the farm as easy as possible by creating a structure to follow. This means they can focus on what’s most important: upskilling, empowering and rehabilitating the prisoners.”