Failed asylum seekers will be detained at a prison site near Lincoln if new reforms are approved.

As reported in the Echo, the Prison Service is considering a "number of options" for the future of Morton Hall prison, near Swinderby, with speculation suggesting it could become a detention centre.

But staff at the jail have now told the Echo the plans on the table would see the site turned into an immigration removal centre.

They say the prison would remain at the same capacity of 393 but hold men whose asylum applications to remain in the UK have been rejected, instead of female prisoners.

The men could remain at the centre for up to three months before they are flown back to their home country.

Officers have been told the consultation will end in "spring time" with a decision expected soon after.

They added other prisons around the UK are being considered under the proposal as the Prison Service attempts to manage its resources in a more efficient way.

Prison Officers Association branch chairman for Morton Hall, Paul Sirrell, said staff were not frightened by potential changes.

"We are a high performance prison," he said.

"We do deal with foreign nationals and we have skills within the staff to take on that role. That is what we are used to dealing with."

The Prison Service refused to comment in detail on the consultation taking place at the jail.