The goods were worth a total of £8,000 ($12,500), according to The Mirror.

"One theory is it was an inside job," said a source. "At night, security is pretty non-existent. There are not enough prison officers to check the whole perimeter."Normally, the inmates can't wait to get out of here, so having the opposite happen has caused much mirth."

The cigarettes were stored in a DHL workshop, which the thieves reached by climbing over a fence.

The crime happened at Kirkham Prison near Preston in Lancashire, where staff are currently looking at CCTV footage.

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