A SEX offender died behind bars after contracting Covid-19 during an outbreak of the virus in a Warrington prison.

Clive Pinder died aged 53 on February 17, 2021, due to multi-organ failure caused by Covid-19 while a prisoner at HM Prison Risley.

An independent investigation has now been completed into his death by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, which aims to ‘make a significant contribution to safer, fairer custody’.

Pinder was the tenth prisoner to die at HMP Risley since February 2019, of which, six were from natural causes, including one from Covid-19, and three were self-inflicted.

On November 2, 2014, Pinder was sentenced to an extended determinate sentence of four years in custody for inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

He was released to an Approved Premises in January 2018 and moved to a further premises in the West Midlands that April, but he absconded on his first night there.

He was recalled to prison and transferred to HMP Risley on December 17, 2020.

In early February 2021, an outbreak of Covid-19 was confirmed on E-wing where Pinder lived, with a decision made that mass testing of prisoners was needed.

On February 4, Pinder had a test and was placed in isolation pending the result, which came back positive on February 8, despite him not showing any symptoms.

The following day, his sister received a call from him and was told Pinder had tested positive, could not stand and kept banging his head. She urged him to call a nurse.

On February 11, at around 9am, an officer carried out welfare checks and saw Pinder in his cell, shaking severely, panting, groaning and unable to speak.

A nurse requested an ambulance at 9.11am and paramedics treated him, advising that he was so unwell that he might need to be defibrillated en route to hospital.

Pinder was taken to Warrington Hospital, escorted by two prison officers and not restrained, and the following day he had been placed on a ventilator and in an induced coma.

However, on the evening of February 17, at around 6.35pm, he died, with a coroner accepted the cause of death provided by a hospital doctor of multi-organ failure caused by Covid-19.

His inquest, held on July 17, 2024, concluded that Pinder died from natural causes.

A clinical reviewer concluded that the care that Pinder received at Risley was of a ‘reasonable standard and equivalent to that which he could have expected to receive in the community’.

The clinical reviewer did, however, have concerns about care planning for prisoners with Covid-19, record keeping and reception screenings.

It is therefore recommended that care plans are implemented for prisoners who test positive for Covid-19, to ensure that appropriate individualised care is always delivered.