DISGRACED former pop star Gary Glitter is being held at The Verne Prison on Portland it has been revealed.

The Echo has previously reported how The Verne had begun its new life in the summer as a jail for sex offenders.

It is one of a few prisons in the country dedicated to holding those convicted of sexual offences in response to an increase in the number of abusers.

Paedophile Gary Glitter, 74, real name Paul Gadd, recently moved from HMP Albany on the Isle of Wight to HMP The Verne, The Sun reports.

The former glam rock singer was jailed in 2015 for 16 years for sexually abusing three young girls between 1975 and 1980.

The Sun describes the Verne as a "cushy prison" and quotes a source who claims it is "like a holiday camp".

According to the paper, the inmates at the Verne have 20-inch flatscreen TVs and tea making facilities in their own cells and are allowed to walk freely around their wing 24-hours-a-day.

They can play "giant chess on a grass lawn and sit admiring a pond full of koi carp".

Inmates are also given personal trainers, can use an astroturf football pitch and use a farm area, it is reported.

The source told the paper: "The public would be disgusted to see how they live."

The Verne, a former Victorian military barracks, was a jail for 60 years before it was turned into an immigration removal centre in 2013. It fulfilled this role until 2017 when it was announced it would return to the public sector prison estate.

A substantial amount of money has been invested in converting it back to a prison to ensure it is safe, secure and fit for purpose.

The Verne is reopening in phases as work inside is completed on the different wings.

When fully opened it will be able to take up to 580 offenders – a similar amount to when it was a prison previously.

The Verne is accepting men over the age of 18 who have completed the Sexual Offences Treatment Programme (SOTP) and other relevant courses as part of their rehabilitation. Inmates must have more than a year left to serve.

The Prison Service said it was unable to comment on individual prisoners.

However a spokesman said: “HMP The Verne recently reopened as a closed prison for category C men convicted of sexual offences.

“Protecting the public is our priority and, as with all closed prisons, strict security measures are in place.

"Under this Government, the most serious offenders are more likely to go to prison, and for longer – helping protect the public and keep communities safe.”

The spokesman pointed out that cells at The Verne don’t have in-cell toilets, so prisoners can access a communal toilet for a small number of cells at night. They cannot access the rest of the prison, or leave the prison.