A LAST-DITCH meeting in an attempt to ensure Cwmbran residents don't find themselves with a 1,500 place prison on their doorstep is being held this week.

Residents are being urged to attend to send the clearest message possible to the Ministry of Justice that the prison is not suitable and not wanted in the area.

The meeting is on Friday at Cwmbran Stadium starting at 5.30pm and residents can voice their opinions on how to make their stance against the proposed prison heard as the consultation period draws to a close.

Torfaen MP Paul Murphy and council leader Bob Wellington will talk to residents about their meeting with Justice Minister David Hanson.

People will also be given the chance to voice their opinions about the proposals and discuss how best to continue the high-profile demonstrations against the plans.

The Ministry of Justice announced in August that the 39-acre former police training college on Greenmeadow Way is one of four potential sites for a new closed Welsh prison for up to 1,500 inmates.

On October 30, Mr Hanson announced the deadline for comments about the new prison in Wales had been extended until November 28.

At a meeting later that day in London, Mr Murphy and Cllr Wellington outlined the case against the siting of a prison in Cwmbran to Mr Hanson.

Cllr Wellington said: "Paul Murphy and I told the Minister what local people have told us loud and clear.

"Now, we have the chance to reinforce that message back in Cwmbran. I’d urge everyone to turn up and make their views known."

The Oppose the Prison Action Group led by St Dials councillor.

Elizabeth Haynes, and Greenmeadow councillor Catherine Lewis, say they now intend to use the extra consultation time to take video footage of the site’s close proximity to houses, and send it to Mr Hanson to be included in the decision process.

Mr Murphy said: "This meeting is a great opportunity for us to come together and say with one voice that we think the police training college site is the wrong place for a prison."