Heatwaves expose overcrowding crisis in Europe's ageing prisons

In Europe this summer, the weather got very, very hot.

Many prisons are very old and very crowded.

Sometimes three or four people have to share one tiny, stuffy cell.

There is no air conditioning in many of these buildings, so prisoners suffered in the heat.

One prisoner in France got hurt after the heat made him feel faint.

Prison workers tried to help by giving out more water, showers, and sun cream.

Some people say the real problem is that there are too many prisoners and the buildings are too old.

The governments of France, Italy, and Belgium say they want to fix this.

Building or fixing prisons, however, is not popular with voters, so changes are slow.