The security firm admitted four incidents after a whisteblower revealed a series of shocking blunders – blaming a staffing crisis and brutal cuts.

The Scottish Daily Record reports one guard on a 12-hour shift was caught sleeping at the hospital in North Lanarkshire while guarding brutal killer and former boxer Tony Malloy.

Another nodded off at hospital in Glasgow when he was supposedly guarding dealer Niki Hunter, who was caged over a £200,000 heroin racket.

One guard let a prisoner escape from his custody in Glasgow after previously being reported for sleeping on duty.

The security firm’s guards in Larbert also let a woman prisoner spend 24 hours with her boyfriend on a hospital visit claiming they were not sure if it was against the rules.

Insiders blame the shocking blunders on penny-pinching by G4S bosses desperate to save cash on the seven-year, £154million contract to transport Scotland’s prisoners to and from hospitals and courts.

“They still need to fulfil the contract, so people contracted for a 21-hour week end up doing more than 24 hours in one shift. No wonder they’re falling asleep. Some are working more than 90 hours a week,” one whistleblower said.

Another insider said: “Dangerous people are being handed over to part-timers still learning the ropes. It’s crazy.”

bbabo.Net