BBC South Today on April 17 featured a report about inmates of Winchester Prison being given £10,000 by the Arts Council to perform a play inside the jail.

Is it just me or is this complete madness? They're in jail for a reason, and I'm pretty sure it's not to be in a play!

I thought a jail sentence was supposed to be a punishment, not a chance to showcase your acting abilities on TV.

When the reporter said that prisoners were getting this chance, I assumed it would be people who were in jail for minor crimes.

One of the two lead actors was in jail for being involved in a fight which landed him a five year sentence. Something tells me it was more than a fight!

Another was in jail for supplying heroin. In my eyes doing this is a form of manslaughter.

Why should these people be given such chances?

What angered me the most was the fact they were given £10,000. Surely the money could have been better spent?

How about giving children in suburban areas a chance like this? Some of those children will probably never see a theatre.

Once again this is yet another example of injustice in our so-called justice system.

What with shelter, three meals a day, laptops, degrees and now acting oppotunities, maybe crime does pay.

ALEX WINNING, Southampton.