Tennis great Boris Becker, who was found guilty of four charges under the Insolvency Act, finds himself in one of United Kingdom's worst jails.
Six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker will spend the next 15 months locked away at one of the UK's worst jails, the Wandsworth Prison. The German was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail after being found guilty of four charges under the Insolvency Act last week, half of which he will spend incarcerated.
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Built in 1851 in South West London, the prison is said to have a capacity of 1,456 prisoners and is known for rampant drug abuse, an infestation of rats and endemic violence.
The 54-year-old former Wimbledon champion will serve his time in this over 170-year-old prison, a far cry from the luxurious life Becker has enjoyed.
Earlier this year, in a report filed by Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor, it was revealed that 'desperately bored' jail inmates spend nearly 22 hours in their cells.
The report added that for the last two years, the Wandsworth Prison authorities used force 1,295 times and witnessed almost one attack every day.
According to the Daily Mail quoting prison sources, Boris Becker will be staying in Wandsworth Prison's B Wing for a fortnight, before being moved to a lower security C Wing. Reports add that the three-time Wimbledon champion is likely to share space with another inmate.
A journal written by former prisoner Chris Atkins, who was sentenced to prison for five years in a 2016 tax scam, reveals the horrific conditions in the prison.
“The first thing that hits me is the noise. Yelling, banging, screaming, grunting, barking, threatening, ranting, laughing, whining, arguing, fighting, howling, crying. It's as if someone has downloaded every single sound effect and is blaring them all out at once," Atkins noted in 'A Bit of a Stretch'.
"The reception wing looks like it last had a makeover in 1895 when Oscar Wilde was here... jailed for homosexuality. It's basically Porridge meets One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, and is full of the most terrifying individuals I have ever seen," the acclaimed documentary filmmaker wrote.
Ironically, Wandsworth prison is just two miles from Wimbledon, where Becker won the first of his three titles as a 17-year-old in 1985.
The former world number one was convicted of hiding several assets, including nearly 700,000 pounds and 75,000 shares in a tech firm and some of his most prized tennis titles. Becker was legally obliged to declare all of his assets after being declared bankrupt five years ago.