Two coronavirus deaths in 24 hours at one of Scotland's maximum security prisons

Two inmates at one of Scotland’s high security prisons have died from coronavirus within 24 hours of each other.

The two men died while serving at HMP Perth, according to a Scottish Prison Service spokesman.

One of the inmates, George Greenshields, 68, was serving a life sentence after being recalled for slitting a man's throat.

He was convicted of murder at Glasgow High Court in July 1988 after brutally killing a man then burning his body.

Despite his early release in 2005, he was imprisoned again after cutting a man’s throat with a bread knife.

The other inmate, who is yet to be named, also succumbed to the virus.

Several prison deaths have been reported in connection with COVID-19 since the beginning of the outbreak.

The first Scottish prisoner to die after contracting the virus was John Angus.

The 66-year-old was being held at HMP Edinburgh when he died in the first week of April after being diagnosed with Covid-19.

A prison officer at HMYOI Polmont near Falkirk in Stirlingshire was the first in his line of work to have died after contracting the virus.