Kebabs, steak and pate, plus three vegan options in a single evening.

These are the meals Macclesfield prisoners are tucking into at nearby HMP Styal.

The Closed Category Prison, which is a nine minute drive north west from Macclesfield town centra via Prestbury Road/A538, have revealed a weekly menu inmates can tuck into, thanks to a Macclesfield Nub News Freedom of Information Request.

While breakfast at HMP Styal offers little juice with two remade breakfast packages, almost 500 inmates are free to choose from five main meal options both at lunchtime and tea.

There are five meal options each to pick from for lunch and dinner.

Afternoon and evening dishes on the local prison's menu include Braised Steak, Broccoli Provencal, and Meatballs in a Chippy Curry Sauce.

There are some less-mouthwatering options. A Monday lunchtime in November 2021 saw liver and onions be served to Macclesfield area offenders.

In another option which will not rouse the tastebuds, Cup a Soup is regularly the only halal option on the teatime menu.

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Despite the dull halal option, there are some flavours around the world catered for, with noodles, creole and even Donner kebabs making an appearance on the menu.

Five of the seven days in a weekly menu Macclesfield Nub News were given reveals there is at least three vegan options to choose from in meals.

Macclesfield produce is not taken advantage of, as one Wednesday last month saw sausages served all the way from the vale of Glamorgan in Wales.

Desserts include raspberry mousse, scones, as well as ginger pudding with custard.

For the monthly menu supplied to this online newspaper, no repeat dishes came up on the following day's menu.

It must be noted that education provision at HMP Styal does teach catering, which could explain the great range of dishes on offer to criminals.

And the breadth of food on offer would teach a significant amount of key skills in the rehabilitation of these local offenders.

Even though HMP Styal may be geographically in Wilmslow, it is internally classed by Cheshire Constabulary as being in Macclesfield, with offenders who go there being arrested by the Macclesfield Local Policing Unit.

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It was once known for only housing adult female prisoners.

However in 1983, 21 years after the prison opened, young offenders began to be housed in the building, and now male prisoners are even sent there.

This may be to save the reputation of the prison, which has five women die in the prison in just over five years.

In September this year, the prison was placed under investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.

This was following an incident of a woman who lost a baby in the prison during her eight-month sentence.

Despite the would-be-mum having alerted prison staff several times, it took several hours for the pregnant prisoner to receive medical attention.

This was because the prison radio system failed when an ambulance was finally attempted to be called, and no attempts to perform CPR on the baby had been made.

This is in spite of the fact that the prison has facilities in place for mothers with babies up to a-year-and-a-half old.

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Perhaps as to rescue the reputation of the under-investigation prison, male offenders from Macclesfield are now starting to be housed there, with some being sentenced as recently as a few weeks ago.

HMP Styal have been reached out to for comment.

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