'We must do more to help prisoners,' Christians told

"We need to do more in the UK church to help those in prison," ex-prisoner Barry Woodward told Christians at the start of Prisons Week.

Woodward was once a heroin addict before he found faith in Jesus Christ and started a new life as a dedicated evangelist.

Today, he is grateful that God never lost hope in him to change.

"It is so easy to give up on people when they are on drugs and in prison - and most of the 80,000 people in this country in prison are there for drug-related offences. But God didn't give up on me," he said.

Woodward is in the process of sending a copy of his book, 'Once an addict', to every prisoner in the UK, and has so far managed to send nearly six thousand copies to Britain's jails. The latest batch of 1800 was sent to Wakefield, Wetherby, Doncaster, Aylesbury and Portsmouth prisons.

He has so far received a lot of positive feedback from the prisons, including one prisoner who said: "I have been in and out of prison for ten years now, all for very violent crimes. I want to thank you for your book, Barry, because it has really given me hope for the future."

Woodward's desire is to take the 'message of hope' into Britain's prisons. "I used to think I had wasted my life, but when God got hold of it, He turned the mess into a message.

"People in prison have messed up, but God cares about those people and they can have a new start. God has a plan for their lives."

On Sunday, churches across the UK started Prisons Week with a day of special services and prayers as part of Prisoners' Sunday.

Prisoners' Week was started in 1975 across England and Wales by prison chaplains and other Christians working with prisoners and their families to encourage churches to pray for the needs of prisoners.

Since that time, it has grown in ecumenical recognition and enjoys the patronage of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of Westminster and the Moderator of the Free Churches Group.

In Scotland, meanwhile, new ground was broken when, for the first time, one of the Church of Scotland's councils met for business inside a Scottish prison.

The Mission & Discipleship Council, one of the seven councils constituted by the General Assembly of 2005, has responsibility for the Kirk's youth work and met at the Polmont Young Offenders Institution last Wednesday.

During the visit, council members toured the prison and learned more about the crucial work being undertaken by prison staff to support the young people in their care.

The Rev Dr Angus Morrison, convener of the Mission & Discipleship Council, said: "This provides us with a timely and appropriate opportunity to affirm our support of the valuable work of the Scottish Prison Service and of its staff."