ROCHDALE'S Buckley Hall prison is to be urgently converted to take women to avert a crisis in the country's jails.

A record 4,000 women are now behind bars, 700 higher than last year, and Buckley Hall - the third men's prison to be converted - will house 350.

Today the Director General of the prison service, Martin Narey, admitted the increase in women prisoners was a crisis and called on courts to consider not using custody.

''The rise in the women's population has been simply incredible. Up to three months to the end of September it was rising at 28 per cent - no-one could have planned for this,'' said Mr Narey.

''More women in prison have committed drug-related offences and violence and also there has been a steady increase in the use of custody.''

The prisons' boss accepted he had to find places for all women sent to prison by the courts, but he felt magistrates should consider alternatives.

''The reality is that much of the progress we have made in prisons - not least in education programmes - may be blown away by once again having to start coping with over-crowding,'' added Mr Narey.

The total prison population has rocketed to an all-time high of 68,357, 4,045 of them women. The number of female prisoners was not predicted by the experts, according to Mr Narey.

Buckley Hall Prison will be expected to convert from male prisoners to female prisoners in time for January, which could impose pressures on those running the jail.

Two other male jails had to be converted earlier this year and there were particular problems in the 340-place Downview Jail in Surrey, where a drug rehabilitation programme had to be broken up.

The prison service also has contracts for two new women's prisons, but they will not open for at least 12 months.