Prison guards to spend Mother's Day together in HMP Norwich

James Hewitt, 40, and his mum, Melissa Hewitt, 56, are set to spend Sunday together - in Norwich Prison.

James is a prison officer on the wings while his mum Melissa works as an operational support grade in the security team, vetting incoming and outgoing letters and parcels. 

James and melissa Hewitt both work at HMP Norwich (Image: HMP Norwich)

Despite public perceptions, more women than men work in the prison service.

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"We’ll probably see each other briefly on Mother’s Day," said Melissa, "but James is a lovely son and we don’t need a special occasion to spend time together.

"I’m very proud of what he does."

More women than men currently work for the prison service (Image: HMP Norwich)

Melissa followed her son into the prison service, having spent most of her working life with adults with physical and learning disabilities and challenging behaviours.

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She added: "Even at my age, working at the prison has helped me to grow as a person. I’ll happily be here until I retire."

James previously worked as a security officer at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital but says that working with his mum at HMP Norwich "is a fantastic bonus".

The Ministry of Justice is encouraging people to find out more about working for the prison service, highlighting that new recruits start on a salary of £32,000.