THOUSANDS of people with a mental disorder are currently in prison when they could be receiving specialist treatment, the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP) says.

Up to 8,000 prisoners — about 10 per cent of the current prison population in England and Wales —may have been eligible for a community sentence or a suspended prison sentence with a mental health treatment requirement (MHTR).

But a lack of funding means services were unable to deliver them,  the psychiatrists’ union says.