Eastwood Park Compensation Scheme for Eastwood Park Detention Centre Skip to main content

Meet Stacey

Stacey Flegg is our Eastwood Park Compensation Scheme expert

Stacey dealt with my case and she was amazing throughout the whole process, can’t thank Winston Solicitors enough

Stacey Flegg, CICA Manager at Winston Solicitors in Leeds
4.93 out of 5
3138 reviews

About Eastwood Park Detention Centre

Eastwood Park, Falfield, Gloucestershire, is now a closed-category prison for women, but this has not always been the case. Originally built in 1964, Eastwood Park was run by the Home Office as a Youth Offending detention centre for young boys between the ages of 14 and 17.

Update on the Eastwood Park Compensation Scheme - Don't miss out!

Since its time as a Young Offenders institution, particularly in the 70s and 80s, there have been countless accusations made against the staff entrusted with rehabilitating the boys in their care. Accusations include verbal abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse.

One prison officer in particular, Patrick Daveney of County Down, Northern Ireland was convicted of Gross Misconduct in February 2023 following reports of his “evil” and “sadistic torture” of over 100 boys in his care between 1970 and 1983.

The courts heard witness evidence from a small number of Daveney’s victims who described him as “cruel” “brutal” and “the worst of the worst”.

winston-solicitors-cica-abuse-and-assault-eastwood-park-compensation-scheme.jpg

Eastwood Park Compensation Scheme

There are currently ongoing discussions between Solicitors and the Government Legal Department around the administration of a scheme to compensate those whose suffered abuse whilst in residence at Eastwood Park Detention Centre.

We urge anyone who suffered physical, sexual or mental abuse whilst resident at Eastwood Park, to report their experience to Avon and Somerset Police. You can do this by calling 101, or report online by visiting https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/forms/rac

We are now actively submitting applications to the scheme and urge anyone who suffered from physical or sexual abuse whilst resident at Eastwood Park to contact us to begin the application process for you. 

Eastwood Park was used as a juvenile detention centre during the 1970s and 1980s. Following a court case in 2023 a former prison guard, Patrick Devaney, now in his 80s, was convicted of misconduct in a public office for beating and abusing boys in his care. Judge Edward Burgess KC, said Devaney “took sadistic pleasure” in mistreating the boys.

Boys aged 14 to 17 spent time at Eastwood Park Detention Centre during the 1970s and 1980s with most being there for relatively short periods of time. A number of boys gave evidence at the court case against Patrick Devaney describing their experiences. The abuse started as soon as a boys arrived at the centre. This was passed of as discipline. In 1979, following the election of Margaret Thatcher, a short, sharp, shock policy was put in place for young offenders with a military style regime intended to shock them out of reoffending.

An update is expected from the Government Legal Department shortly. Following discussions with them, we anticipate the scheme could be live in a matter of weeks.

DO NOT MISS OUT!

Contact our experts now to ensure your claim is submitted as soon as possible!

How can we help?

We understand that coming forward and revisiting historical abuse can be extremely distressing and triggering. We are here to help you to get justice under the Eastwood Park Compensation Scheme.

We believe that all survivors of abuse deserve to have their voices heard, and through the Eastwood Park Compensation Scheme, we hope that some justice will finally be served.

Winston Solicitors is one of the leading law firms in Leeds and is dedicated to supporting victims of physical violence and abuse whilst obtaining compensation for their suffering.

Our expert team of specialist lawyers will act on your behalf to apply to and navigate the scheme to ensure the correct amount of compensation is made to you.

If you would like to discuss making a claim under the scheme, please contact us on 0113 320 5000.

The guidance we have presently is “No”. Whilst having as much evidence of your claim as possible, available would be advantageous, for those who do not wish to make a report to the police, this is currently not a requirement of the scheme. If you do wish to make a report, please report this to Avon and Somerset Constabulary, either online via their website, or by calling 101.

We understand that your time at Eastwood Park will have been many years ago, and therefore it may be difficult know the exact dates. With your consent, we will contact the Criminal Records Office and obtain your convictions history, which will evidence your detention at Eastwood Park.

Final figures are still under negotiation however we anticipate the awards to range between £3000 and £9,500.

Our injury specialists will make the claim on your behalf. The process is likely to be similar to other schemes which we have vast experience with. Please use our contact form below to get in touch with a member of our team. They will take some details of your time at Eastwood Park and will be able to tell you whether you are likely to be successful in claiming compensation.

We believe the scheme requirements will include direct application of force and therefore the scheme is unlikely to compensate those who witnessed abuse of others, or were made to live in a harsh environment. If however you sustained direct physical aggression or abuse, including sexual abuse or touching, you should be eligible for compensation.

We understand that you may well have not sought medical attention for your injuries, or have evidence of the same. We will put forward your case and detail the nature of the abuse you suffered, including any injuries. If you are claiming long term physical or mental injuries as a result of your abuse, we may need to obtain medical evidence to support the same.

As a firm, we operate on a No win, No fee basis. Meaning you only pay legal costs if you are awarded compensation. 

We anticipate the Scheme will have provision for legal costs, therefore you will keep 100% of your compensation and we will not charge you anything. We will seek remuneration of our costs directly from the scheme.

Yes. The awards for the scheme are anticipated to reflect your time spent at Eastwood Park. We anticipate this to be in the following categories:

  • Period up to three months
  • Period over three months
  • Long term physical or mental injuries because of abuse sustained at Eastwood Park

Negotiations are also taking place in relation to whether awards will be available for racial abuse.

Until the scheme is published, it is difficult to advise, however we anticipate that you will make one claim, to cover the entire period of time spent at Eastwood Park.

Client feedback

They were very good at keeping me up to date and letting me know the progress of my claim
Charley
I would definitely highly recommend the efficiency & good communication thry have & have had several properties successfully completed with
Mr H
Excellent local solicitors would recommend. You can call in the office car parking available and receptionists very helpful if you need help. Dealt with them before, excellent.
Ian
Friendly, easy to understand and comunitive. Would happily recommend they to others.
John
Winston Solicitors was recommended to me, as this was my first time buying a house and didn’t know what to expect. They made the process very easy and I did not have to worry about any of the process as I got to track it every step of the way. Samantha also kept me updated and any queries were replied to promptly. I will definitely be using again in the future and recommend everyone I know.
Mr Michel
I can’t speak highly enough of Sidraa at Winston Solicitors for her exceptional support throughout my house purchase. From start to finish, she has been absolutely brilliant. Her prompt responses, attention to detail, and professionalism made a stressful process feel manageable and smooth. This is actually the second time I’ve used Winston Solicitors, and once again, they have been great. Consistent, reliable, and professional and Sidraa in particular truly went above and beyond. She was always kind, polite, and incredibly approachable, nothing ever felt like too much trouble. Even when dealing with a particularly difficult chain and the added pressure of a new stamp duty deadline, she worked tirelessly to get everything done on time. She responded to queries even out of hours, always called back when she said she would, and genuinely made me feel like a priority. What really stood out to me was her dedication — despite having preplanned annual leave for Eid, she still tried to keep things moving, which shows how committed she is to her clients. Her communication was clear and consistent, and she made a complex process feel a lot less daunting. I felt fully supported and in safe hands throughout. If you're looking for a solicitor who is professional, caring, and truly exceptional at what she does, Sidraa at Winston Solicitors is the one to go to. I’m incredibly grateful for everything she did and wouldn’t hesitate to work with her again or recommend her to others. - April 2025
I Younas, Leeds
I would really like to thank both Amr and his assistant Joe. Throughout the whole process they kept me informed, nothing was ever too much. I am a first time buyer, this was a very stressful time but both members of staff made me feel at ease that it would get sorted. Thank you so much both!
Y Hinton, Leeds
Leasa and Julie were fantastic at helping us buy and sell our house. They were punctual, and kept us up to date with what was going on. Their online platform was clear to follow. Leasa's email response time was rapid, this was incredibly valuable. - March 2025
J Salthouse, Leeds
Contact Stacey