A high security jail has been criticised by the prisons watchdog for not improving race relations.

Although 28 per cent of prisoners at Lang Lartin jail in Worcestershire were either black or Asian there was "no clear direction or strategy" on the issue of race.

While the safety of the prison is praised in a report published on Wednesday by chief inspector Anne Owers, this "masked some serious deficiencies" in other areas.

Problems were found in areas such as work and education for inmates despite the problem being identified by previous inspections in 1999 and 2002.

"In the month before the inspection, the prison managed to fill only a quarter of available activity spaces so many prisoners who should have been working were locked up," she said.

"Some of this was due to the refurbishment programme, but it also reflected the poor management of staff and resources.

"Only one in 10 of those in employment was involved in any training that led to qualifications."

Race monitoring data was unavailable to inspectors, who detected an "underlying tension" between inmates, a situation which they warned could worsen if not addressed.

Owers has made 86 recommendations for improvement.

"Overall, Long Lartin was a safe and comfortable prison for its staff and most of its prisoners, which is no mean achievement given the nature of its prisoner population," she said.

"However, there were considerable deficits."

Phil Wheatley, director general of the Prison Service, said improvements had been made since the inspection.

"I agree there is more to do to improve the regime and work is underway to increase purposeful activity and improve training opportunities," he said.

"The importance of race relations has been recognised and a full-time race relations officer has been appointed."