Three prisoners killed themselves in custody in HMP Wandsworth in 2015, figures released by the Ministry of Justice show.

The data shows that 89 of the country's prisoners took their own lives last year, with five in Woodhill, and four each in Exeter, Ranby and Winchester.

January 15: Prisoner Taras Nykolyn admits manslaughter of fellow inmate and Wimbledon Common attack

December 1: Death of murder accused Jonathan Palmer raises further questions about Wandsworth prison​

Six other prisons had three suicides in the year.

In total there were five deaths in HMP Wandsworth.

A further eight prisoners were killed in suspected homicides in 2015, the highest number since records began in 1978.

In May 2015, Wandsworth prisoner Tara Nykolyn was charged with murdering fellow inmate Wadid Barsoum.

In January 2016, he confessed to manslaughter, and is currently awaiting sentencing on February 5.

Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: "No one should be so desperate whilst they are in the care of the state that they take their own life.

"The numbers hide the true extent of misery for prisoners and families – and for staff, who have been given the impossible task of keeping people safe in overcrowded prisons starved of resources.

"The question now for the Ministry of Justice is what to do? This level of deaths, violence and anguish in prisons cannot continue to rise in a civilised society.

"We cannot go on cramming more people into jails without any thought for the consequences."

December 2: Alleged choir paedophile Colin Brown on run for 30 years dies on Wandsworth prison toilet 8 days after arriving at jail

November 19: Wandsworth Prison could be closed as "old relic" Victorian prisons are earmarked for new homes

In July 2015, Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox halted the inquest of a man who died in Wandsworth Prison in order to open an investigation into the high numbers of deaths there.

According to the Howard League, deaths by suicide have risen by 46 per cent in the last three years.

There were 23,291 cases of self-harm in male prisoners in the UK between September 2014 and 2015, and 18,134 male assault incidents in the same timespan.