LANCASTER Castle has inspired many artists over the years - but most of them have been looking at the famous building from the outside.

But now, a group of prisoners are creating poetry and prose inspired by their experience inside the castle walls.

Bound to Burst, a project, jointly funded by Lancashire County Council and Lancaster Litfest, saw local writer Ron Baker spend two days each week helping 16 inmates create an anthology of work which will be kept in the prison library and distributed around other jails.

Ron believes his work has helped the prisoners, who spend much of their lives obeying rules, to express themselves, while the editing process helps them to think about their actions.

He admits to being highly impressed with the quality of the work, and identifies two or three of the prisoners as demonstrating a real talent.

One of the prisoners, Mark, dubbed the 'poet laureate of Lancaster Castle,' has written more than 40 poems in the five weeks since the project began and he hopes to take his interest in creative writing further in the future.

His work ranges from the ironic 'HMP' in which he looks forward to telling his grandkids he 'lived in a castle' to 'Roses in razor wire', a poignant reflection on life behind bars written for the prison chaplain.

"For me, poetry is an escape from prison," said Mark: "It can take my mind where I want to go.

It can conjure up a park or a river and it keeps my mind occupied."

Mark, who wrote song lyrics before being jailed, now plans to continue writing and keep up his interest in poetry.

Perhaps the most personal work came from Wayne, who described his experience of being separated from his wife and daughter.

"I guess that was what was in my mind at the time," he explained: "I have been writing short stories for several years now and I hope something can come of it."

This is the third prison project, which Litfest has been involved in and the organisation also hopes to take its work into other local jails.

There are plans for the Bound to Burst volume to be available on the website at www.litfest.org.