A PRISONER was handed thousands of pounds in compensation for being forced off hard drugs in an Oxfordshire jail.

The inmate, at Bullingdon Prison, near Bicester, won £3,807 last year after his drugs were cut off and he was made to go through "cold turkey" detox.

The payment stems from legal action brought against the Home Office two years ago by a group of prisoners, mostly heroin addicts who had been receiving methadone treatment.

A High Court judge approved payouts for the inmates following claims the sudden withdrawal of their drugs - and the "difficulties" they endured - breached their human rights.

Payments totalling £750,000 subsequently went to 197 prisoners forced to stop taking drugs at jails across England.

The Bullingdon inmate received his cash, in 2006/07, under the so-called opiate dependent prisoner litigation (ODPL), according to Ministry of Justice figures.

As well as the ODPL claims, a further £4,585 was paid out to three Bullingdon prisoners as compensation for two cases of unlawful detention and an assault on one of the inmates by a member of staff. The payout for the assault alone came to £4,000.

Nationally, 461 inmates were handed more than £2m in compensation in 2006/07, the figures showed.

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Herbert said of the drugs payout: "Prisoners are receiving thousands of pounds in compensation while the victims of crime frequently end up with nothing.

"For the Government to pay compensation is madness. It sends a signal that all addicts in prison deserve to have their drug addiction maintained, paid for by taxpayers, when they should really be getting clean."

Norman Brennan, of the Victims of Crime Trust, said: "This case loses sight of the fact that taking drugs is illegal. These prisoners took drugs of their own accord and broke the law to fund their habits."

But the Government insisted it agreed reluctantly to pay up to minimise costs to the public. It argued the inmates could have been granted even more cash had each case been contested in court.

A Prison Service spokesman said: "Each compensation claim received by the Prison Service is treated on its individual merits.

"Legal advice is sought and, on the basis of that advice, a decision is made on whether or not the claim should be defended."