VICTORIA Road has been decommissioned as a prison following the transfer of services to the Islands new facility at Jurby.

Minister for Home Affairs Adrian Earnshaw MHK signed the official paperwork outside the old jail in the presence of Prison Governor Alison Gomme. The order revokes the Custody Act 1995 which designated 99 Victoria Road, Douglas as an institution for the detention of offenders.

Mr Earnshaw said:

Signing this order represents the end of an era. Victoria Road prison will now be consigned to a place in the history books after playing an important role in Island life for more than a century.

Public tours are currently taking place to give members of the Manx public an opportunity to take a look inside the walls of Victoria Road.