Two out of three inmates are on suicide watch in Scotland's notorious Cornton Vale women's prison, new figures revealed yesterday.

Campaigners demanded an end to jailing vulnerable women after Scottish government records showed 179 of Cornton Vale's 281 prisoners were being monitored under a "suicide risk management strategy."

At 64 per cent, the level is more than double the one-in-four rate among the general prison population.

The release follows revelations last month that Scotland's prisons have seen 28 apparent suicides and 61 attempts since 2010 - yet just two of the 28 deceased had been placed on the service's suicide prevention strategy Act 2 Care.

A Scottish Prison Service spokesman said staff at Cornton Vale had erred on the side of caution.

"The numbers are high because we are trying to prevent self-harming and suicide.

"One person self-harming is one person too many."

But the Prison Reform Trust's Juliet Lyon said that the jail terms themselves were fuelling the problem.

"Most of the solutions to women's offending lie outside prison walls in treatment for addictions and mental health problems, protection from domestic violence and coercive relationships, secure housing, debt management, education, skills development and employment.

"Community sentences enable women to take control of their lives, care for their children and address the causes of their offending," she said.

More than 8,000 men, women and teenagers are living behind bars in Scotland, according to prison service figures for January - around 3 per cent more than the prison estate's "design capacity."