At Wakefield High Security prison, in North East England, the officers on night duty have taken to wearing soft-soled shoes so as not to disturb the inmates beauty sleep. This follows complaints by some inmates about the noise made by boots on the slate landings.

However, Glyn Travis, a Prison Officers' Association spokesman said the approach also had security benefits. Because the soft shoes allows prison officers to patrol the prison landings without being detected, the theory is they are more likely to discover unwanted and illegal activities.

They've probably still got steel to-caps in 'em - I mean, would you want to get embroiled in a fight with a prisoner found indulging in illegal activities with your slippers on?

BBC