By OLIVIA ALLHUSEN, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER

Published: 18:01 GMT, 9 January 2026 | Updated: 22:31 GMT, 9 January 2026

A female prison tutor today appeared in court accused of having an 'intimate relationship' with a prisoner.

Kelly Duffey, 36, is charged with striking up a romantic relationship with Ashley Goodridge, 37, who is currently serving a prison sentence.

The offences allegedly took place at the all-male prison HMP Erlestoke in Wiltshire.

Goodridge appeared at court alongside Duffey and is charged with using a phone to contact his alleged tutor lover while he was at the Category C prison.

Duffey and Goodridge appeared at Salisbury Magistrates' Court, Wiltshire, for the first time today.

Duffey, from Amesbury, Wiltshire, is charged with two counts of being a holder of a public office who willfully neglected to perform her duty or willfully misconducted herself.

One charge is for 'entering and engaging in an intimate relationship with a prisoner', while the other is for 'failing to notify the Prison Authorities of your knowledge of an inappropriate relationship between a member of prison staff and a prisoner'.

Goodridge is charged with possessing a phone and transmitting an image by electronic communications in prison.

The offending allegedly took place between May 20, 2024 and September 5, 2024.

Prison tutor Kelly Duffey, 36, has appeared in court accused of having an 'intimate relationship' with a prisoner

Duffey (pictured) is charged with striking up a romantic relationship with Ashley Goodridge, 37, who is currently serving a prison sentence

The offences allegedly took place at the all-male prison HMP Erlestoke in Wiltshire. Pictured: General view of the Salisbury Law Courts in Salisbury, Wiltshire

Arguing for the cases of Goodridge and Duffey to be heard together, prosecutor Roxanne Cole said: 'Miss Duffey was employed as a tutor at one of the prisons where the defendant was serving - Mr Goodridge - she formed an intimate relationship with him.

'The phone he possessed was used to send messages to her with regard to that relationship.

'The crown says it is inextricably linked, intimately related, so the matters should go to the crown court for a hearing.'

Goodridge appeared in court via video link from HMP Coldingley in Surrey, where he is now serving.

The pair have both been granted unconditional bail - in Goodridge's case, this is technical unconditional bail as he is currently in prison.

Chair magistrate Paul Robinson told Duffey: 'You need to keep well away from any possibility of further offending.

'It makes the whole situation a little bit worse and doesn't help you.'